Sample records for surface states formed

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has generated land surfaceform classes for the contiguous United States. These land surfaceform classes were created as part of...

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — This digital dataset describes classes of land-surfaceform in the conterminous United States. The source of the data is the map of land-surfaceform in the 1970...

Supra-molecular self-assembly on surfaces often involves molecular conformational flexibility which may act to enrich the variation and complexity of the structures formed. However, systematic and explicit investigations of how molecular conformational states are selected in surface self-assembly processes are relatively scarce. Here, we use a combination of high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to investigate self-assembly for a custom-designed molecule capable of assuming eight distinct surface conformations (four enantiomeric pairs). The conformations result from binary positions of n = 3 naphtalene units on a linear oligo(naphthylene-ethynylene) backbone. On Au(111), inter-molecular interactions involving carboxyl and bulky tert-butyl-phenyl functional groups induce the molecules to form two ordered phases with brick-wall and lamella structure, respectively. These structures each involve molecules in two conformational states, and there is a clear separation between the conformers involved in the two types of structures. On Cu(111), individual molecules isolated by carboxylate-substrate binding show a distribution involving all possible conformational states. Together these observations imply selection and adaptation of conformational states upon molecular self-assembly. From DFT modeling and statistical analysis of the molecular conformations, the observed selection of conformational states is attributed to steric interaction between the naphthalene units. The present study enhances our understanding of how ordering and selection of molecular conformations is controlled by intermolecular interactions in a complex situation with many distinct conformational states for the participating molecules.

The paper reports on a study of regularities of formation gradient nano-, submicron and microstructural conditions in the surface layers of the samples after pulsed electron-beam melting of tantalum coating on the substrate NiTi alloy. Experimentally revealed the presence of submicron columnar structure in the upper layers of the tantalum coating. After irradiation modified NiTi surface takes on a layered structure in which each layer differs in phase composition and structural phase state.

). The conformations result from binary positions of n = 3 naphtalene units on a linear oligo(naphthylene-ethynylene) backbone. On Au(111), inter-molecular interactions involving carboxyl and bulky tert-butyl-phenyl functional groups induce the molecules to form two ordered phases with brick-wall and lamella structure...... the naphthalene units. The present study enhances our understanding of how ordering and selection of molecular conformations is controlled by intermolecular interactions in a complex situation with many distinct conformational states for the participating molecules....

The problem of designing optical systems that contain free-formsurfaces is a challenging one, even in the case of designing a single surface. Here we present a method for the coupled design of two free-form reflective surfaces that will have a prescribed distortion. On one hand, the method can be described using traditional vectors and matrices, which we do, but it is motivated by viewing the problem in the language of distributions from differential geometry and makes use of the exterior differential systems, which we relegate to an appendix. Example applications are given to the design of a mirror pair that increases the field of view of an observer, a similar mirror pair that also rotates the observer's view, and a pair of mirrors that give the observer a traditional panoramic strip view of the scene.

Full Text Available Architectural form in contemporary architecture gains more and more independence and visual difference from the tectonic structure of the building. Many researchers of contemporary architecture separate a building’s “skin” from its carcass. Thus a new element is distinguished – the coat of the building. Such autonomy of the surface makes a presumption that there is a certain separation between structural and non-structural elements, between the frame and the envelope. As soon as the building’s “skin” is disembodied from its structure, its function becomes similar to that of a curtain or dress. The article examines the influence of autonomous surfaces on the architectural form, identifies the most typical features and expressions of the building’s skin and provides the charactersitic contemporaty examples.Article in Lithuanian

Full Text Available Among many unusual and interesting physical properties of photonic crystals (PhC, in recent years, the propagation of surface electromagnetic waves along dielectric PhC boundaries have attracted considerable attention, also in connection to their possible applications. Such surfacesstates, produced with the help of specialized defects on PhC boundaries, similarly to surfaces plasmons, are localized surfaces waves and, as such, can be used in various sensing applications. In this contribution, we present our recent studies on numerical modelling of surfacestates (SS for all three cases of PhC dimensionality. Simulations of these states were carried out by the use of plane wave expansion (PWE method via the MIT MPB package.

We present a field theoretical model of point-form dynamics which exhibits resonance scattering. In particular, we construct point-form Poincar\\'e generators explicitly from field operators and show that in the vector spaces for the in-states and out-states (endowed with certain analyticity and topological properties suggested by the structure of the $S$-matrix) these operators integrate to furnish differentiable representations of the causal Poincar\\'e semigroup, the semidirect product of the semigroup of spacetime translations into the forward lightcone and the group of Lorentz transformations. We also show that there exists a class of \\emph{irreducible} representations of the Poincar\\'e semigroup defined by a complex mass and a half-integer spin. The complex mass characterizing the representation naturally appears in the construction as the square root of the pole position of the propagator. These representations provide a description of resonances in the same vein as Wigner's unitary irreducible represent...

We present a field theoretical model of point-form dynamics which exhibits resonance scattering. In particular, we construct point-form Poincaré generators explicitly from field operators and show that in the vector spaces for the in-states and out-states (endowed with certain analyticity and topological properties suggested by the structure of the S-matrix) these operators integrate to furnish differentiable representations of the causal Poincaré semigroup, the semidirect product of the semigroup of spacetime translations into the forward lightcone and the group of Lorentz transformations. We also show that there exists a class of irreducible representations of the Poincaré semigroup defined by a complex mass and a half-integer spin. The complex mass characterizing the representation naturally appears in the construction as the square root of the pole position of the propagator. These representations provide a description of resonances in the same vein as Wigner's unitary irreducible representations of the Poincaré group provide a description of stable particles.

We develop an analytical method to derive exact surfacestates in photonic superlattices. In a kind of infinite bichromatic superlattices satisfying some certain conditions, we analytically obtain their in-gap states, which are superpositions of finite numbers of unstable Bloch waves. By using the unstable in-gap states, we construct exactly several stable surfacestates in various photonic superlattices. We analytically explore the parametric dependence of these exact surfacestates. Our analysis provides an exact demonstration for the existence of surfacestates and would be also helpful to understand surfacestates in other lattice systems.

U-channel forming tests were performed to investigate the surface topography evolvement of hot-dip galvanized(GI) and galvannealed(GA) steels and the effects of die hardness on sheet metal forming(SMF). Experimental results indicate that the surface roughness values of the two galvanized steels increase with the number of forming, i.e., the surface topographies of galvanized steels are roughened in SMF. Moreover, GI steel has a better ability of damage-resistance than GA steel. The mechanisms of topography evolvement are different in the forming of GI and GA steels. Scratch is the main form of surface damage in the forming of GI steels. The severity of scratch can be decreased by increasing die hardness. GA steel results in exfoliating of the coating firstly and then severe scratching. The surface topography of galvannealed steels can be improved by increasing die hardness. However, the hardness should not be too high.

Spacelike Willmore surfaces in 4-dimensional Lorentzian space forms, a topic in Lorentzian conformal geometry which parallels the theory of Willmore surfaces in S4, are studied in this paper. We define two kinds of transforms for such a surface, which produce the so-called left/right polar surfaces and the adjoint surfaces. These new surfaces are again conformal Willmore surfaces. For them the interesting duality theorem holds. As an application spacelike Willmore 2-spheres are classified. Finally we construct a family of homogeneous spacelike Willmore tori.

We present the calculation of vibrational modes and lattice relaxation for the Pd(100), (110) and (111) surfaces. The surface phonon frequencies and polarizations are obtained using embedded-atom potentials. Comparison of the calculated frequency values with available experimental data gives agreement within 0.2 THz.

A new method is put forward combining computer vision with computer aided geometric design (CAGD) to resolve the problem of free-formsurface reconstruction. The surface is first subdivided into N-sided Gregory patches, and a stereo algorithm is used to reconstruct the boundary curves. Then, the cross boundary tangent vectors are computed through reflectance analysis. At last, the whole surface can be reconstructed jointing these patches with G1 continuity(tangent continuity). Examples on synthetic images are given.

In this paper, we study geometry of isometric minimal immersions of Riemannian surfaces in a symmetric space by moving frames and prove that the Gaussian curvature must be constant if the immersion is of parallel second fundamental form. In particular, when the surface is $S^2$, we discuss the special case and obtain a necessary and sufficient condition such that its second fundamental form is parallel. We alsoconsider isometric minimal two-spheres immersed in complex two-dimensional Kählersymmetric spaces with parallel second fundamental form, and prove that the immersionis totally geodesic with constant Kähler angle if it is neither holomorphic nor antiholomorphicwith Kähler angle $\\alpha\

We consider a quadratic form defined on the surfaces with parallel mean curvature vector of an any dimensional complex space form and prove that its $(2,0)$-part is holomorphic. When the complex dimension of the ambient space is equal to $2$ we define a second quadratic form with the same property and then determine those surfaces with parallel mean curvature vector on which the $(2,0)$-parts of both of them vanish. We also provide a reduction of codimension theorem and prove a non-existence result for $2$-spheres with parallel mean curvature vector.

The requirements of optical surfaces are increasing with respect to their functionality and accuracy of form. Furthermore, it is a goal for the optical industry to unify the lens process from development to production. In our phase of design we have an arbitrary set of 3D-points of a free formedsurface. With approximation through NURBS, we get a continuous description of this surface. To the generated NURB-Spline, we have developed a CNC-program for the UPM-3000 machine, which drives the cutter along the level curve. Therefore, we triangulate the NURBS-surface. By the desired accuracy and the generated triangles, we determine levels of the surface. Thus, we refine the given triangulation. Hence we have a triangular decomposition for each level, which will be driven along by the cutter. The described method will be compared to the common raster-fly-cut-method for accuracy and cutting time.

We show that the surface dispersions of topological semimetals map to helicoidal structures, where the bulk nodal points project to the branch points of the helicoids whose equal-energy contours are Fermi arcs. This mapping is demonstrated in the recently discovered Weyl semimetals and leads us to predict new types of topological semimetals, whose surfacestates are represented by double- and quad-helicoid surfaces. Each helicoid or multi-helicoid is shown to be the non-compact Riemann surface representing a multi-valued holomorphic function (generating function). The intersection of multiple helicoids, or the branch cut of the generating function, appears on high-symmetry lines in the surface Brillouin zone, where surfacestates are guaranteed to be doubly degenerate by a glide reflection symmetry. We predict the heterostructure superlattice [(SrIrO3)2(CaIrO3)2] to be a topological semimetal with double-helicoid surfacestates.

Full Text Available The paper presents investigation results on machining of surfaces having a coating formed by electromagnetic facing with surface plastic deformation and using abrasive and diamond wheels having a porous metal binder with orientated drains.

The design of addendum surfaces in sheet forming process is very important for the product quality, but it is very time-consuming and needs tedious trial-error corrections. In this paper, we propose a methodology to automatically generate the addendum surfaces and then to optimize them using a forming modelling solver. The surfaces' parameters are taken as design variables and modified in course of optimization. The finite element mesh is created on the initial addendum surfaces and mapped onto the modified surfaces without remeshing operation. The Feasible Sequential Quadratic Programming (FSQP) is adopted as our algorithm of optimization. Two objective functions are used: the first one is the thickness function to minimize the thickness variation on the workpiece ; the second one is the appearance function aiming to avoid the scratching defects on the external surfaces of panels. The FSQP is combined with our "Inverse Approach" or "One Step Approach" which is a very fast forming solver. This leads to a very efficient optimization procedure. The present methodology is applied to a square box. The addendum surfaces are characterised by four geometrical variables. The influence of optimization criteria is studied and discussed.

Carboxylic acids are known to assume a variety of configurations on metallic surfaces. In particular oxalic acid on the Cu(110) surface has been proposed to assume a number of upright configurations. Here we explore with DFT calculations the possible structures that oxalic acid can form on copper 110 at different protonation states, with particular attention at the possibility of forming structures composed of vertically standing molecules. In its fully protonated form it is capable of anchoring itself on the surface thanks to one of its hydrogen-free oxygens. We show the monodeprotonated upright molecule with two oxygens anchoring it on the surface to be the lowest energy conformation of a single oxalic molecules on the Cu(110) surface. We further show that it is possible for this configuration to form dense hexagonally arranged patterns in the unlikely scenario in which adatoms are not involved.

Let Q3 be the common conformal compactification space of the Lorentzian space forms R31,S31 and H31.We study the conformal geometry of space-like surfaces in Q3.It is shown that any conformal CMC-surface in Q3 must be conformaily equivalent to a Constant mean curvature surface in R31,S31 or H31.We also show that if x:M→Q3 is a space-like Willmore surface whose conformal metric g has constant curvature K,then either K=-1 and x is conformally equivalent to a minimal surface in R31,or K=0 and x is conformally equivalent to the surface H1(1/√2)×H1(1/√2) in H31.

The hydrated surfaces of a zirconium barium fluoride glass, which has potential for application in optical fibers and other optical elements, were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Crystalline zirconium fluoride was identified by analysis of X-ray diffraction patterns of the surface crystals and found to be the main constituent of the surface material. It was also found that hydrated zirconium fluorides form only in highly acidic fluoride solutions. It is possible that the zirconium fluoride crystals form directly on the glass surface as a result of its depletion of other ions. The solubility of zirconium fluoride is suggested to be probably much lower than that of barium fluoride (0.16 g/100 cu cm at 18 C). Dissolution was determined to be the predominant process in the initial stages of the reaction of the glass with water. Penetration of water into the glass has little effect.

Topological superconductors have become a subject of intense research due to their potential use for technical applications in device fabrication and quantum information. Besides fully gapped superconductors, unconventional superconductors with point or line nodes in their order parameter can also exhibit nontrivial topological characteristics. This article reviews recent progress in the theoretical understanding of nodal topological superconductors, with a focus on Weyl and noncentrosymmetric superconductors and their protected surfacestates. Using selected examples, we review the bulk topological properties of these systems, study different types of topological surfacestates, and examine their unusual properties. Furthermore, we survey some candidate materials for topological superconductivity and discuss different experimental signatures of topological surfacestates.

The stabilizer formalism allows the efficient description of a sizeable class of pure as well as mixed quantum states of n-qubit systems. That same formalism has important applications in the field of quantum error correcting codes, where mixed stabilizer states correspond to projectors on subspaces associated with stabilizer codes. In this paper, we derive efficient reduction procedures to obtain various useful normal forms for stabilizer states. We explicitly prove that these procedures will always converge to the correct result and that these procedures are efficient in that they only require a polynomial number of operations on the generators of the stabilizers. On one hand, we obtain two single-party normal forms. The first, the row-reduced echelon form, is obtained using only permutations and multiplications of generators. This form is useful to calculate partial traces of stabilizer states. The second is the fully reduced form, where the reduction procedure invokes single-qubit operations and CNOT operations as well. This normal form allows for the efficient calculation of the overlap between two stabilizer states, as well as of the Uhlmann fidelity between them, and their Bures distance. On the other hand, we also find a reduction procedure of bipartite stabilizer states, where the operations involved are restricted to be local ones. The two-party normal form thus obtained lays bare a very simple bipartite entanglement structure of stabilizer states. To wit, we prove that every bipartite mixed stabilizer state is locally equivalent to a direct product of a number of maximally entangled states and, potentially, a separable state. As a consequence, using this normal form we can efficiently calculate every reasonable bipartite entanglement measure of mixed stabilizer states.

This research work describes a novel approach for comparing different technologies for free formsurface metrology: computerized tomography (CT), photogrammetry and coordinate measuring machines (CMM). The comparison has the aim of providing relevant information for the selection of metrology...... also deals with costs issues, required standards, and necessary additional information when selecting inspection equipment....

This research work describes a novel approach for comparing different technologies for free formsurface metrology: computerized tomography (CT), photogrammetry and coordinate measuring machines (CMM). The comparison has the aim of providing relevant information for the selection of metrology...... also deals with costs issues, required standards, and necessary additional information when selecting inspection equipment....

We study the space of first order models of smooth frame fields using the method of moving frames. By exploiting the Maurer-Cartan matrix of connection forms we develop geometrical embeddings for frame fields which lie on spherical, ellipsoidal and generalized helicoid surfaces. We design methods...

Full Text Available The article is devoted to consideration of questions of functions of the state and forms of their realization, which are of very great importance in the theory of the state and practice of its functioning. It can be explained with the next moments, first, to that in functions are shown essence of the state, its social appointment. The state representing the phenomenon of social life, it is characterized by extraordinary variety of directly observable and perceived manifestations. It is defined as a variety of the tasks solved by the state in various areas of life of society, and a variety of bodies, forms, methods and means of implementation of the state activity. In this regard studying of functions serves as the prerequisite of knowledge of the main thing and defining in the state. Secondly, functions of the state define its structure, i.e. ways, regularities of the organization of elements of the state as difficult system. Research of functions of the state and forms of their realization helps to estimate its opportunities, promotes deeper understanding of the mechanism of its interaction with other structures of society in the solution of the most important political, economic, social, ecological, cultural and other tasks. The correct establishment of functions of the state and definition of forms of realization of these functions promotes stabilization of the public relations and development of society in various spheres

The present review outlines the state of the art of the traceability of measuring free formsurfaces on coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). A general introduction to free from surfaces and to the way free formsurfaces are inspected in industry at present is given.and some problems regarding...... the traceability of measuring of free formsurfaces on CMMs outlined. A newly developed procedure for performance verification on CMMs with respect to free form measurements is described, and some investigations regarding this method are reviewed. The investigations are concerned with two new tests, the Spiral...... have been carried out on two CMMs with different performances. The investigations have clearly shown that the performance verification procedure must be implemented in the specific software in use for the actual measurements. The Spiral Test showed a clear influence on CMM performances from scanning...

This paper presented a model of integrated reverse engineering system and set up its various data output flowchart, which is easy to be associated with other systems. The idea of integrated reverse engineer is introduced to the system of forming sheet metal with complex surface and using IDEF0 method sets up the function model of the system. The freeform surface reconstruction and CAD modeling of the system are described and decomposed. This paper discussed some problems, such as the feature expression, feature modeling and feature translation of the sheet parts and dies.

Metallization of dense hydrogen and associated possible high-temperature superconductivity represents one of the key problems of physics. Recent theoretical studies indicate that before becoming a good metal, compressed solid hydrogen passes through a semimetallic stage. We show that such semimetallic phases predicted to be the most stable at multimegabar (∼300 GPa) pressures are not conventional semimetals: they exhibit topological metallic surfacestates inside the bulk "direct" gap in the two-dimensional surface Brillouin zone; that is, metallic surfaces may appear even when the bulk of the material remains insulating. Examples include hydrogen in the Cmca-12 and Cmca-4 structures; Pbcn hydrogen also has metallic surfacestates but they are of a nontopological nature. The results provide predictions for future measurements, including probes of possible surface superconductivity in dense hydrogen.

A flexible interferometry is proposed to test concave optical aspheric and free-formsurfaces. It employs a flexible aberration generator (FAG) consisting of a movable reflective sphere (MRS) and two counter-rotating optical wedges (CROW). The FAG is able to generate low-order Zernike aberrations to compensate the inherent aberrations of the test surface by the rotation of wedges in CROW and translation (or tilt) of the MRS. For some surfaces with mild departure, the FAG would result in a resolvable interferogram by the different aberrations compensation and the flexible test is thus achieved. The practical calibration for FAG is also reported. After calibration, experiment results showing the validity of the flexible test are presented by testing an ellipsoidal mirror and an off-axis paraboloidal mirror.

We present updated preliminary results for the nucleon electromagnetic form factors for non-perturbatively $\\mathcal{O}(a)$ improved Wilson fermions in $N_f=2$ QCD measured on the CLS ensembles. The use of the summed operator insertion method allows us to suppress the influence of excited states in our measurements. A study of the effect that excited state contaminations have on the $Q^2$ dependence of the extracted nucleon form factors may then be made through comparisons of the summation method to standard plateau fits, as well as to excited state fits.

We describe examples of drastic truncations of conformal bootstrap equations encoding much more information than that obtained by a direct numerical approach. A three-term truncation of the four point function of a free scalar in any space dimensions provides algebraic identities among conformal block derivatives which generate the exact spectrum of the infinitely many primary operators contributing to it. In boundary conformal field theories, we point out that the appearance of free parameters in the solutions of bootstrap equations is not an artifact of truncations, rather it reflects a physical property of permeable conformal interfaces which are described by the same equations. Surface transitions correspond to isolated points in the parameter space. We are able to locate them in the case of 3d Ising model, thanks to a useful algebraic form of 3d boundary bootstrap equations. It turns out that the low-lying spectra of the surface operators in the ordinary and the special transitions of 3d Ising model form two different solutions of the same polynomial equation. Their interplay yields an estimate of the surface renormalization group exponents, y h = 0 .72558(18) for the ordinary universality class and y h = 1 .646(2) for the special universality class, which compare well with the most recent Monte Carlo calculations. Estimates of other surface exponents as well as OPE coefficients are also obtained.

We describe examples of drastic truncations of conformal bootstrap equations encoding much more information than that obtained by a direct numerical approach. A three-term truncation of the four point function of a free scalar in any space dimensions provides algebraic identities among conformal block derivatives which generate the exact spectrum of the infinitely many primary operators contributing to it. In boundary conformal field theories, we point out that the appearance of free parameters in the solutions of bootstrap equations is not an artifact of truncations, rather it reflects a physical property of permeable conformal interfaces which are described by the same equations. Surface transitions correspond to isolated points in the parameter space. We are able to locate them in the case of 3d Ising model, thanks to a useful algebraic form of 3d boundary bootstrap equations. It turns out that the low-lying spectra of the surface operators in the ordinary and the special transitions of 3d Ising model form two different solutions of the same polynomial equation. Their interplay yields an estimate of the surface renormalization group exponents, y{sub h}=0.72558(18) for the ordinary universality class and y{sub h}=1.646(2) for the special universality class, which compare well with the most recent Monte Carlo calculations. Estimates of other surface exponents as well as OPE coefficients are also obtained.

A novel method of forming lipid bilayer membrane arrays on micropatterned polyelectrolyte film surfaces is introduced. Polyelectrolyte films were fabricated by the layer-by-layer technique on a silicon oxide surface modified with a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) monolayer. The surface pK(a) value of the APTES monolayer was determined by cyclic voltammetry to be approximately 5.61, on the basis of which a pH value of 2.0 was chosen for layer-by-layer assembly. Micropatterned polyelectrolyte films were obtained by deep-UV (254 nm) photolysis though a mask. Absorbed fluorescent latex beads were used to visualize the patterned surfaces. Lipid bilayer arrays were fabricated on the micropatterned surfaces by immersing the patterned substrates into a solution containing egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching studies yielded a lateral diffusion coefficient for probe molecules of 1.31±0.17 μm(2) s(-1) in the bilayer region, and migration of the lipid NBD PE in bilayer lipid membrane arrays was observed in an electric field.

Angle Resolved Photo Emission Spectroscopy (ARPES) has been a very effective tool to study the electronic states of solids, from simple metals to complex systems like cuprate superconductors. For photon energy in the range of 10 - 100 eV, it is a surface sensitive process as the free path of the photo emitted electrons is of the order of a few lattice parameters. However to interpret the experimental data one needs to have a theoretical foundation for the photoemission process. From the theory of photoemission it may be seen that one can get information about the state from which the electron has been excited. As the translational periodicity is broken normal to the surface, a new type of electron state in the forbidden energy gap can exist localized in the surface region. ARPES can reveal the existence and the property of such surfacestates. We shall also discuss briefly how the electromagnetic field of the photons are influenced by the presence of the surface and how one can try to take that into account in photoemission theory.

Starting with an elementary discussion of quantum holography, we show that entangled quantum states of qubits provide a ''local'' representation of the global geometry and topology of quantum Riemann surfaces. This representation may play an important role in both mathematics and physics. Indeed, the simplest way to represent the fundamental objects in a ''theory of everything'' may be as muti-qubit entangled states.

A new solid-state pulse forming module is described in this paper. The pulse forming module is fabricated on a glass ceramic substrate, with the dimension of 250 mm × 95 mm × 4 mm. By changing the copper strips used in the pulse forming modules, the pulse duration of the obtained pulsed can range from 80 ns to 140 ns. Both the simulation and tests show that the pulse forming module has a good pulse forming ability. Under a high voltage in microsecond's time, the new pulse forming modules can hold off a voltage up to 25 kV higher than that of the previous study. In addition, future optimization for the field enhancement near the thin electrode edge has been proposed and simulated.

For most of the conventional crystals with low-index surfaces, the hopping between the nearest neighbor (1NN) crystal planes (CPs) is dominant and the ones from the nNN (2≤nsurface states at the level of the hopping approximation between the 1NN CPs when the original infinite crystal has the geometric reflection symmetry (GRS) for each CP. Meanwhile, based on the perturbation theory, it has also been shown that small perturbations from the hopping between the nNN (2≤nsurface relaxation have no impact on the above conclusion. However, for the crystals with strong intrinsic spin-orbit coupling (SOC), the dominant terms of intrinsic SOC associate with two 1NN bond hoppings. Thus SOC will significantly contribute the hoppings from the 1NN and/or 2NN CPs except the ones within each CP. Here, we will study the effect of the hopping between the 2NN CPs on the surfacestates in model crystals with three different type structures (Type I:“· · ·–P–P–P–P–· · ·”, Type II:“· · ·–P–Q–P–Q–· · ·”and Type III:“· · ·–P=Q–P=Q–· · ·”where P and Q indicate CPs and the signs“–”and“=”mark the distance between the 1NN CPs). In terms of analytical and numerical calculations, we study the behavior of surfacestates in three types after the symmetric/asymmetric hopping from the 2NN CPs is added. We analytically prove that the symmetric hopping from the 2NN CPs cannot induce surfacestates in Type I when each CP has only one electron mode. The numerical calculations also provide strong support for the conclusion, even up to 5NN. However, in general, the coupling from the 2NN CPs (symmetric and asymmetric) is favorable to generate surfacestates except Type I with single electron mode only.

Surface passivation is of great technological importance due to the increasing miniaturisation of electronic devices. It has been known for many years that under certain conditions surfacestates can form; when they do so in a quantum well (QW) the result is an unbound (i.e., evanescent) state in the QW. Such surfacestates are generally undesirable, so a good physical understanding of them is important. A simple single-p-orbital valence band model is used with two types of surface passivation to examine surfacestates in a QW: (1) an energy upshift added to the terminal atoms; and (2) explicit passivation by an s-orbital on each end of the QW. These models show these unbound/evanescent QW states can occur in both models; that in them the wavefunction is bound to the terminal atoms; and that the existence of these states is connected to the effective valence-band offset between the terminal atoms and the bulk QW.

The phenomenon of electrical conductivity being controlled by the chemical state of a surface grafted reactive centre, resulting in a room temperature gas response, is demonstrated. The reactive centres can be chosen to be specific to a particular gas, providing a route to new types of gas detectors tailored for a particular application. Generalization of the phenomenon was verified. Surface grafting of Ti, Ru and Pt centres onto SnO2; Ti and Pt centres onto Ti02 ; and Pt centres onto BaSn0.97Sb0.03O3 resulted in a room temperature gas sensitivity specific to each system. Surface grafting of Ru centres onto SnO2 resulted in additional electronic states in the SnO2 band gap associated with surface Ru species, revealed by XPS and correlated with resistance increase of the material. An electronic interaction between grafted Ru centres and the SnO2 support was manifested in conductivity being controlled by the surfacestate of the Ru. Variations in the chemical state of the surface grafted Ru caused by gas chemisorption were revealed by XPS and this was correlated with conductivity change measured as gas response of the device at room temperature. The samples were characterized by EXAFS to confirm the structure of the surface Ru species, TPD, UV- visible spectroscopy, XPS and electrical measurements. DFT molecular cluster calculations were also performed to ascertain the origin of the gas response. The mechanism of the room temperature CO response of SnO2 decorated with small Pt particles was refined. In this case Pt was applied by common impregnation techniques. The conductivity was shown to be controlled by the surfacestate of the Pt. The CO response at room temperature was found to be specific to the presence of Pt(II) species. The mechanism was assigned to CO chemisorption onto Pt(II), resulting in charge transfer, measured as conductivity increase. The samples were characterized by XPS, TPD, SEM, mass spectrometry and electrical measurements. Comparison of the

Full Text Available Aim. The topicality of the research is stipulated by the objective necessity of the organizational and economic mechanism improvement of the state support projects of the industrial building. The aim of the research is the development of conceptual provisions and methodological foundations of financial projects creating conditions for economic growth of Russia based on the construction and putting into effect industrial objects.Methods. In the course of the research the system, subject-functional and structural approaches were implemented to solve the problems set widening the scope of the complex approach to assessment of the current operating mechanism of the state financial support of the projects and financial volume; to criteria stipulation of the most effective projects contest selection: to the search of the investment resources accumulation instrument into industrial building.Results. It is stipulated that state investment policy in industrial building mechanism oriented to define rational investment volumes and their branch, reproductive, technological and territorial structure; option of the building branch development priority; increase of the investment projects efficiency realization. The dynamics of the state support in the form of subsidies and budget investments into creation of the industrial building objects is analytically summarized. It is determined that the peculiarity of the modern state support projects of industrial building is transition from budget allocations distribution between branches and regions to selective and partial financing of specific investment projects on competitive basis. Some tactics of state and private partnership attracting private capital without losing strategic state control under systems and objects are defined. As an effective form of the industrial building support projects it is proposed to use a concession model form: projecting - building- financing- ownership - exploitation

The surfacestates of pyrite (FeS2) were theoretically investigated using first principle calculation based on the density functional theory (DFT). The results indicate that both the (200) and (311) surfaces of pyrite undergo significant surface atom relaxation after geometry optimization, which results in a considerable distortion of the surface region. In the normal direction, i.e., perpendicular to the surface, S atoms in the first surface layer move outward from the bulk, while Fe atoms move toward the bulk, forming an S-rich surface. The surface relaxation processes are driven by electrostatic interaction, which is evidenced by a relative decrease in the surface energy after surface relaxation. Such a relaxation process is visually interpreted through the qualitative analysis of molecular mechanics. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis reveals that only sulfur atom is visible on the pyrite surface. This result is consistent with the DFT data. Such S-rich surface has important influence on the flotation properties of pyrite.

We describe examples of drastic truncations of conformal bootstrap equations encoding much more information than that obtained by a direct numerical approach. A three-term truncation of the four point function of a free scalar in any space dimensions provides algebraic identities among conformal block derivatives which generate the exact spectrum of the infinitely many primary operators contributing to it. In boundary conformal field theories, we point out that the appearance of free parameters in the solutions of bootstrap equations is not an artifact of truncations, rather it reflects a physical property of permeable conformal interfaces which are described by the same equations. Surface transitions correspond to isolated points in the parameter space. We are able to locate them in the case of 3d Ising model, thanks to a useful algebraic form of 3d boundary bootstrap equations. It turns out that the low-lying spectra of the surface operators in the ordinary and the special transitions of 3d Ising model form...

3D solid models for parts with regular-formsurfaces (PRFSs) are effectively generated using traditional parametric design techniques. A new model is obtained by changing some parameters defining the model. The parts with free-formsurfaces(PFFSs), however, cannot be defined by several parameters. Usually they are defined by some geometric elements like profile curves. The traditional parametric design approaches have not easily dealt with the PFFSs. A method for generating a solid model and an engineering drawing for PFFSs is proposed in this paper: First, the new profiles are generated from input point data. Second,the profile information is extracted from the existing model. Last, the old profiles are replaced with the new profiles. This method can preserve the associative information of the existing model and automatically generate the drawing including views, dimensions, and annotations. The proposed method has been implemented using a commercial CAD/CAM system, Unigraphics, and API functions written in C-language, and were applied to the blades of a turbine generator. Some illustrative examples are provided in order to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Orthodontics is the branch of dentistry concerned with the study of growth of the craniofacial complex. The detection and correction of malocclusion and other dental abnormalities is one of the most important and critical phases of orthodontic diagnosis. This paper introduces a system that can assist in automatic orthodontics diagnosis. The system can be used to classify skeletal and dental malocclusion from a limited number of measurements. This system is not intended to deal with several cases but is aimed at cases more likely to be encountered in epidemiological studies. Prior to the measurement of the orthodontics parameters, the position of the teeth in the jaw model must be detected. A new free-formsurface representation is adopted for the efficient and accurate segmentation and separation of teeth from a scanned jaw model. THe new representation encodes the curvature and surface normal information into a 2D image. Image segmentation tools are then sued to extract structures of high/low curvature. By iteratively removing these structures, individual teeth surfaces are obtained.

Full Text Available The article highlights the integration which is taking place on the post-Soviet space and it marks some factors which promote integration course. There are some forms of integration interaction of the countries of the post-Soviet space. The article designates and analyzes them. They are: the Union State of Russia and Belarus, Free trade zone of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The prevalence of political nature of integration processes on the post-Soviet space and aspiration to the development of economic integration unites them. Examined integration associations are various in their format. The Union State includes in an orbit of own interests the integration of different spheres of life of participating countries and as it is supposed to be a confederation of two states. The Customs Union represents the Customs Union of three countries which have expressed desire to go on the way of association of the customs territories and unification of the customs duties concerning the third countries. Free trade zone of the CIS means cancellation of the customs duties in trade between the participating countries. Each association has common interests of the states in various spheres directed on mutual cooperation and assumes various ways of consolidation. The detected forms of integration interaction carry out certain interpenetration among themselves. The existence of the states consisting in some of the considered organizations on the post-Soviet space promotes it. The considered organizations represent forms of integration interaction. The absence of continuity and gradual evolutionary transition from one form of integration to another obviously doesn’t promote acceleration and deepening of unifying processes on post-Soviet space. In spite of it the priority of the interstate relations is the orientation of the countries on development of economic interaction. It is

The data from a broad spectrum of investigational techniques strongly and consistently indicates that hydrogen can exist in lower-energy states than previously thought possible. The predicted reaction involves a resonant, nonradiative energy transfer from otherwise stable atomic hydrogen to a catalyst capable of accepting the energy. The product is H(1/p), fractional Rydberg states of atomic hydrogen called ''hydrino atoms'' wherein n=(1/2,1/3,1/4,..1/p) (p {<=} 137 is an integer) replaces the well-known parameter n = integer in the Rydberg equation for hydrogen excited states. Atomic lithium and molecular NaH served as catalysts since they meet the catalyst criterion - a chemical or physical process with an enthalpy change equal to an integer multiple m of the potential energy of atomic hydrogen, 27.2 eV (e.g. m = 3 for Li and m = 2 for NaH). Specific predictions based on closed-form equations for energy levels of the corresponding hydrino hydride ions H{sup -}(1/4) of novel alkali halido hydrino hydride compounds (MH*X; M = Li or Na, X = halide) and molecular hydrino H{sub 2}(1/4) were tested using chemically generated catalysis reactants. First, Li catalyst was tested. Li and LiNH{sub 2} were used as a source of atomic lithium and hydrogen atoms. Using water-flow, batch calorimetry, the measured power from 1 g Li, 0.5 g LiNH{sub 2}, 10 g LiBr, and 15 g Pd/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} was about 160 W with an energy balance of {delta}H = -19.1 kJ. The observed energy balance was 4.4 times the maximum theoretical energy based on known chemistry. Next, Raney nickel (R-Ni) served as a dissociator when the power reaction mixture was used in chemical synthesis wherein LiBr acted as a getter of the catalysis product H(1/4) to form LiH*X as well as to trap H{sub 2}(1/4) in the crystal. The ToF-SIMs showed LiH*X peaks. The {sup 1}H MAS NMR of LiH*Br and LiH*I showed a large distinct upfield resonance at about -2.5 ppm that matched H{sup -}(1/4) in a LiX matrix

mechanism of the room temperature CO response of SnO sub 2 decorated with small Pt particles was refined. In this case Pt was applied by common impregnation techniques. The conductivity was shown to be controlled by the surfacestate of the Pt. The CO response at room temperature was found to be specific to the presence of Pt(ll) species. The mechanism was assigned to CO chemisorption onto Pt(ll), resulting in charge transfer, measured as conductivity increase. The samples were characterized by XPS, TPD, SEM, mass spectrometry and electrical measurements. Comparison of the results presented for Pt decorated BaSn sub 0 sub . sub 9 sub 7 Sb sub 0 sub . sub 0 sub 3 O sub 3 and BaFeO sub 3 demonstrated the phenomenon to be general providing that Pt particles act as surface traps, controlling the conductivity. The phenomenon of electrical conductivity being controlled by the chemical state of a surface grafted reactive centre, resulting in a room temperature gas response, is demonstrated. The reactive centres can ...

The algorithm for surface modeling and volume grid generation using parametric Non-Uniform Rational B-splines (NURBS) geometric representation are presented. The enhanced re-parameterization algorithm which can yield a desired physical distribution on the curve, surface, and volume is also presented. This approach bridges the gap between computer aided design surface/volume definition and surface/volume grid generation.

Insulators occur in more than one guise; a recent finding was a class of topological insulators, which host a conducting surface juxtaposed with an insulating bulk. Here, we report the observation of an unusual insulating state with an electrically insulating bulk that simultaneously yields bulk quantum oscillations with characteristics of an unconventional Fermi liquid. We present quantum oscillation measurements of magnetic torque in high-purity single crystals of the Kondo insulator SmB6, which reveal quantum oscillation frequencies characteristic of a large three-dimensional conduction electron Fermi surface similar to the metallic rare earth hexaborides such as PrB6 and LaB6. As a result, the quantum oscillation amplitude strongly increases at low temperatures, appearing strikingly at variance with conventional metallic behavior.

In addition to the conducting CuO{sub 2} (S) layers, most high-T{sub c} superconductors also contain other conducting (N) layers, which are only superconducting due to the proximity effect. The combination of S and N layers can give rise to complicated electronic densities of states, leading to quasilinear penetration depth and NMR relaxation rate behavior at low temperatures. Surfacestates can also complicate the analysis of tunneling and, photoemission measurements. Moreover, geometrical considerations and in homogeneously trapped flux axe possible explanations of the paramagnetic Meissner effect and of corner and ring SQUID experiments. Hence, all of the above experiments could be consistent with isotropic s-wave superconductivity within the S layers.

The surface structure and composition of Si(111) was modified, by heating it to 1300 °C in ultrahigh vacuum under an external tensile stress. A stress of approximately 1 GPa was applied, by pressing on the center of the rear side of the sample. This process produced two protrusions of approximately 100 μm in height, to the left and right of the center. Scanning Auger electron spectroscopy revealed Fe, Cr, Ni, and C impurities at the top of one protrusion, and C at the top of the other. These impurities likely diffused into the tops of the protrusions during heating, and segregated to the local surface during cooling when the protrusions formed. The protrusion formation mechanism is discussed. Their formation was related to non-uniform surface temperature, electromigration, piezoresistivity, freezing-point depression due to surface alloying with the impurities, and volume expansion during solidification from surface melting. These findings provide a perspective on controlling surface structures and compositions using heat and stress to induce self-assembly.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to analyze the shapes of lingual polished surfaces in lower complete dentures formed by polished surface impressions and to provide reference data for use when manufacturing edentulous trays and lower complete dentures. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-six patients with mandibular edentulism were studied. After lower wax dentures were fabricated, wax was removed from the lingual side of the wax denture and a lingual polished surface impression was obtained with tissue conditioner. The definitive denture was scanned with a three-dimensional scanner, and scanned images were obtained. At the cross-sections of the lingual frenum, lateral incisors, first premolars, first molars, and anterior border of the retromolar pads, three points were marked and eight measurements were taken. The Kruskal-Wallis test and a post hoc analysis with the Mann-Whitney test were performed. RESULTS Each patient showed similar values for the same areas on the left and right sides without a statistically significant difference. The height of the contour of the lingual polished surface at the lingual frenum was halfway between the occlusal plane and lingual border, it moved gradually in a downward direction. The angle from the occlusal plane to the height of the contour of the lingual polished surface was increased as it progressed from the lingual frenum towards the retromolar pads. CONCLUSION The shape of the mandibular lingual polished surface was convex at the lingual frenum, lateral incisors and gradually flattened towards the first molars and retromolar pads. PMID:28018565

This work presents a unified approach to predict surface strains at failure in bulk forming processes. The approach does not deal with a specific process but rather with prescribed strain and stress paths. The material to be processed is assumed to possess an initial void volume fraction that grows and colaesces with straining, ending by fracture. The predictions are based on a formulation for voided solids according to the Gurson-Tvergaard yield function adapted to include orthotropic anisotropy. The incident of fracture is characterized by shear band formation within the ligaments of the matrix material among spheroidal voids as described by McClintock. The results are represented by a straight line plot of tensile limit strain versus the compressive strain for different loading paths. These limit curves are shown to be dependent on the initial void fraction, hardening, and anisotropy of the matrix matrial. Alloys with lower initial void fractions as well as those of higher hardening show better workability. The model is applied to predict bulk formability curves for steels AISI 1040 and 1045, Aluminum AI 7075-T6, and copper, based on the proper selection of micromechanical parameters for these alloys. The validity of the model is ensured through fairly favorable comparison with experimentally determined limit curves. The current failure conditions are suitable to predict the experimental dual slope fracture line that may exist for some alloys such as cold-drawn steel AISI 1045 and aluminum 2024-T6 by considering two mechanisms of failure: internal necking in the ligament material between voids, followed by transition to shear band formation.

Self-assembly of polypeptides into fibrillar structures can be initiated by planar surfaces that interact favorably with certain residues. Using a coarse-grained model, we systematically studied the folding and adsorption behavior of a β -roll forming polypeptide. We find that there are two different folding pathways depending on the temperature: (i) at low temperature, the polypeptide folds in solution into a β -roll before adsorbing onto the attractive surface; (ii) at higher temperature, the polypeptide first adsorbs in a disordered state and folds while on the surface. The folding temperature increases with increasing attraction as the folded β -roll is stabilized by the surface. Surprisingly, further increasing the attraction lowers the folding temperature again, as strong attraction also stabilizes the adsorbed disordered state, which competes with folding of the polypeptide. Our results suggest that to enhance the folding, one should use a weakly attractive surface. They also explain the recent experimental observation of the nonmonotonic effect of charge on the fibril formation on an oppositely charged surface [C. Charbonneau et al., ACS Nano 8, 2328 (2014), 10.1021/nn405799t].

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The nitride layer was formed on uranium by glow plasma surface nitriding. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Four zones were observed in the nitride layer. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The chemical states of uranium, nitrogen, and oxygen were identified by AES. - Abstract: The nitride layer was formed on uranium metal by a glow plasma surface nitriding method. The structure and composition of the layer were investigated by X-ray diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. The nitride layer mainly consisted of {alpha}-phase U{sub 2}N{sub 3} nanocrystals with an average grain size about 10-20 nm. Four zones were identified in the layer, which were the oxide surface zone, the nitride mainstay zone, the oxide-existence interface zone, and the nitrogen-diffusion matrix zone. The gradual decrease of binding energies of uranium revealed the transition from oxide to nitride to metal states with the layer depth, while the chemical states of nitrogen and oxygen showed small variation.

The optical method of caustics developed mainly for studying singularities in stress fields was extended to define quantitatively the slope variation of warped surfaces. The existing theory was concerned with the study of infinitesimal but abrupt variations of thickness in elastic and plastic stress fields containing stress singularities due to either loading or geometry. In this paper the theory of caustics was extended to study the warping of any surface due mainly to twisting loads- While the caustics developed in previous uses were generalized epicycloid surfaces with or without a single cusp line, in the cases studied in this paper multicusp surfaces were developed. The quantitative interrelationship between the shape and size of the caustic and the respective mode of twisting of the surface was established, and interesting properties of these surfaces were disclosed. Applications to twisted elliptic, triangular, and square elastic bars clearly illustrate the importance of the method.

The protecting and staining properties of biofilms grown on oil-treated surfaces of Pinus sylvestris L. sapwood were investigated with respect to their potential to create homogeneous coloured surfaces. Linseed oil pressure-treated blocks of P. sylvestris L. were evaluated after 36 months of outdoor

In the present paper, a problem of Ioana Mihaila is negatively answered on the invertibility of composition operators on Riemann surfaces, and it is proved that the composition operator Cρ is Fredholm if and only if it is invertible if and only ifρ is invertible for some special cases. In addition,the Toeplitz operators on ∧12 a (M) for Riemann surface M are defined and some properties of these operators are discussed.

Keratins are a group of important proteins in skin and hair and as biomaterials they can provide desirable properties such as strength, biocompatibility, and moisture regaining and retaining. The aim of this work is to develop water-soluble keratin polypeptides from sheep wool and then explore how their surface adsorption behaves with and without surfactants. Successful preparation of keratin samples was demonstrated by identification of the key components from gel electrophoresis and the reproducible production of gram scale samples with and without SDS (sodium dodecylsulphate) during wool fibre dissolution. SDS micelles could reduce the formation of disulphide bonds between keratins during extraction, reducing inter-molecular crosslinking and improving keratin polypeptide solubility. However, Zeta potential measurements of the two polypeptide batches demonstrated almost identical pH dependent surface charge distributions with isoelectric points around pH 3.5, showing complete removal of SDS during purification by dialysis. In spite of different solubility from the two batches of keratin samples prepared, very similar adsorption and aggregation behavior was revealed from surface tension measurements and dynamic light scattering. Mixing of keratin polypeptides with SDS and C12TAB (dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide) led to the formation of keratin-surfactant complexes that were substantially more effective at reducing surface tension than the polypeptides alone, showing great promise in the delivery of keratin polypeptides via the surface active complexes. Neutron reflection measurements revealed the coexistence of surfactant and keratin polypeptides at the interface, thus providing the structural support to the observed surface tension changes associated with the formation of the surface active complexes.

The emulsifying ability of OSA-modified and native starch in the granular form, in the dissolved state and a combination of both was compared. This study aims to understand mixed systems of particles and dissolved starch with respect to what species dominates at droplet interfaces and how stability is affected by addition of one of the species to already formed emulsions. It was possible to create emulsions with OSA-modified starch isolated from Quinoa as sole emulsifier. Similar droplet sizes were obtained with emulsions prepared at 7% (w/w) oil content using OSA-modified starch in the granular form or molecularly dissolved but large differences were observed regarding stability. Pickering emulsions kept their droplet size constant after one month while emulsions formulated with OSA-modified starch dissolved exhibited coalescence. All emulsions stabilized combining OSA-modified starch in granular form and in solution showed larger mean droplet sizes with no significant differences with respect to the order of addition. These emulsions were unstable due to coalescence regarding presence of free oil. Similar results were obtained when emulsions were prepared by combining OSA-modified granules with native starch in solution. The degree of surface coverage of starch granules was much lower in presence of starch in solution which indicates that OSA-starch is more surface active in the dissolved state than in granular form, although it led to unstable systems compared to starch granule stabilized Pickering emulsions, which demonstrated to be extremely stable. PMID:27479315

Partial differential equations (PDEs) combined with suitably chosen boundary conditions are effective in creating free formsurfaces. In this paper, a fourth order partial differential equation and boundary conditions up to tangential continuity are introduced. The general solution is divided into a closed form solution and a non-closed form one leading to a mixed solution to the PDE. The obtained solution is applied to a number of surface modelling examples including glass shape design, vase surface creation and arbitrary surface representation.

Methods for the fabrication of piezoceramic microactuators that will be used in a miniaturized robot have been investigated. Multilayered structures for piezoceramic microactuators are usually fabricated by tape casting and lamination. The present structures are fabricated with a wet building process where thin layers of ceramic slurry and screen-printed electrodes are cast sequentially. The use of multilayered structures reduces the drive voltage to common levels for integrated circuits, but also result in difficulties forming complicated shapes. Dicing is a straightforward alternative to achieve a simple geometry, but it can not machine e.g. a hollow cylindrical structure. There are several methods that could be used, but only few that would be cost-efficient for large-scale production. One of these is milling with modern high-precision CNC machine tools. Conventional milling of sintered ceramic components would result in many problems since the material is rather brittle and cracks are easily formed. Cracks are detrimental to the mechanical properties as well as for the electrical properties. Milling in the ceramic green state appears to be a promising method, since microcracks does not arise. The relatively soft green body puts great demands on the milling process. A high speed of the spindle is necessary to achieve low cutting forces since sub-millimeter cutting tools are used. The paper present result from different milling test and discusses how the machining parameters affect the resulting shape. The resolution is comparable with other techniques and it can be concluded that it is sufficient for normal screen-printed multilayered components. The evaluation of resulting deformation of the material after milling and sintering is presented.

Topological insulators support metallic surfacestates whose existence is protected by the bulk band structure. It has been predicted early that the topology of the surfacestate Fermi contour should depend on several factors, such as the surface orientation and termination and this raises...... the question to what degree a given surfacestate is protected by the bulk electronic structure upon structural changes. Using tight-binding calculations, we explore this question for the prototypical topological insulator Bi$_{1-x}$Sb$_x$, studying different terminations of the (111) and (110) surfaces. We...... also consider the implications of the topological protection for the (110) surfaces for the semimetals Bi and Sb...

Nanostructures have been lauded for their quantum confinement capabilities and potential applications in future devices. Compound semiconductor nanostructures are being integrated into the next generation of photovoltaic and light emitting devices to take advantage of their unique optical characteristics. Despite their promise, adoption of nanostructure based devices has been slow. This is due in large part to difficulties in effective fabrication and processing steps. By manipulating the surface energy of various components during growth, we can control the final structure and corresponding optoelectronic characteristics. Specifically I will present on GaSb quantum dots embedded in GaAs and GaAs nanowires using novel substrate and catalyst materials. GaSb quantum dots embedded in a GaAs matrix are ideal for devices that require capture of minority carriers as they exhibit a type II band offset with carrier concentration in the valence band. However, during GaAs capping, there is a strong driving force for the dot to demolish into a distribution of intact dots, rings, and GaSb material clusters. We demonstrate the ability to mitigate this effect using both chemical and kinetic means: we alter the surface chemistry via the addition of aluminum, and use droplet epitaxy as an alternative quantum dot formation method. Secondly, the growth of high quality GaAs on silicon has always been restricted due to material incompatibilities. With the emergence of increasingly smaller low power electronics, there is a demand to integrate optoelectronic devices directly on the surface of CMOS sensor stacks. Utilizing the vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism we are able to demonstrate the growth of high quality GaAs nanowires on polycrystalline substrates at low temperatures. This allows for the growth of III-V nanowire based devices directly on the metal pads of pre-packaged CMOS chips. We also investigate the potential use of bismuth as an alternative to gold for catalyzing

A wet oxidation process was developed for oxidizing waste materials, comprising dissolved ruthenium salt in a reactant feed stream containing the waste materials. The feed stream is introduced into a reactor, and the reactor contents are then raised to an elevated temperature to effect deposition of a catalytic surface of ruthenium black on the interior walls of the reactor. The feed stream is then maintained in the reactor for a period of time sufficient to effect at least partial oxidation of the waste materials.

A comprehensive simulation model -deposition,diffusion, rotation, reaction and aggregation model is presented to simulate the formation processes of ramified clusters on liquid surfaces, where clusters can diffuse and rotate easily. The mobility (including diffusion and rotation) of clusters is related to its mass, which is given by Dm = Dos-γD and θm =′θos-γθ, respectively. The influence of the reaction probability on the kinetics and structure formation is included in the simulation model. We concentrate on revealing dynamic scaling during ramified cluster formation. For this purpose, the time evolution of the cluster density and the weight-average cluster size as well as the cluster-size distribution scaling function at different time are determined for various conditions. The dependence of the cluster density on the deposition flux and time-dependence of fractal dimension are also investigated. The obtained results are helpful in understanding the formation of clusters or thin film growth on liquid surfaces.

Monitoring of organic halogen compounds, measured as adsorbable organic bromine (AOBr) revealed seasonal high concentrations of organic bromine compounds in a surface water (Lake Tegel, Berlin, Germany). Usually, in late summer, concentrations are up to five times higher than during the rest of the year. The AOBr of the lake inflows (throughout the year less then 6 {mu}g/L) were always lower then those in the lake, which indicates a production of AOBr in the lake. A correlation of the AOBr and chlorophyll-a concentration (1) in the lake provides first evidence for the influence of phototrophic organisms. The knowledge of the natural production of organohalogens is relatively recent. Up to now there are more then 3800 identified natural organohalogen compounds that have been detected in marine plants, animals, and bacteria and also in terrestrial plants, fungi, lichen, bacteria, insects, some higher animals, and humans. Halogenated organic compounds are commonly considered to be of anthropogenic origin; derived from e.g. pharmaceuticals, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, flame retardants, intermediates in organic synthesis and solvents. Additionally they are also produced as by-products during industrial processes and by waste water and drinking water disinfection. Organohalogen compounds may be toxic, persistent and/or carcinogenic. In order to understand the source and environmental relevance of naturally produced organobromine compounds in surface waters, the mechanism of the formation was investigated using batch tests with lake water and algae cultures.

The present study compares energetics of wetting behavior of crystalline and amorphous forms of a poorly water soluble drug, celecoxib (CLB) and attempts to correlate it to their surface molecular environment. Wettability and surface free energy were determined using sessile drop contact angle technique and water vapor sorption energetics was measured by adsorption calorimetry. The surface chemistry was elucidated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and crystallographic evaluation. The two solid forms displayed distinctly different wetting with various probe liquids and in vitro dissolution media. The crystalline formsurface primarily exhibited dispersive surface energy (47.3mJ/m(2)), while the amorphous form had a slightly reduced dispersive (45.2mJ/m(2)) and a small additional polar (4.8mJ/m(2)) surface energy. Calorimetric measurements, revealed the amorphous form to possess a noticeably high differential heat of absorption, suggesting hydrogen bond interactions between its polar energetic sites and water molecules. Conversely, the crystalline CLB form was found to be inert to water vapor sorption. The relatively higher surface polarity of the amorphous form could be linked to its greater oxygen-to-fluorine surface concentration ratio of 1.27 (cf. 0.62 for crystalline CLB), as determined by XPS. The crystallographic studies of the preferred cleavage plane (020) of crystalline CLB further supported its higher hydrophobicity. In conclusion, the crystalline and amorphous forms of CLB exhibited disparate surface milieu, which in turn can have implications on the surface mediated events.

By using the derivative method, we obtained the same result with that of the previous work of Chen et al.in 2006.Different from the integral form, the derivative form of the surface expression published in this paper is derived from differential equation and based on the theory of non-imaging focusing heliostat proposed by Chen et al.in 2001.The comparison of the derivative form of fixed aberration correction surface has been made with that of integral formsurface as well as that of spherical surface in concentrating the solar ray.

An essential step for the realization of free-formsurface structures is to create an efficient structural gird that satisfies not only the architectural aesthetics, but also the structural performance. Employing the main stress trajectories as the representation of force flows on a free-formsurface, an automatic grid generation approach is proposed for the architectural design. The algorithm automatically plots the main stress trajectories on a 3D free-formsurface, and adopts a modified advancing front meshing technique to generate the structural grid. Based on the proposed algorithm, an automatic grid generator named “St-Surmesh” is developed for the practical architectural design of free-formsurface structure. The surface geometry of one of the Sun Valleys in Expo Axis for the Expo Shanghai 2010 is selected as a numerical example for validating the proposed approach. Comparative studies are performed to demonstrate how different structural grids affect the design of a free-formsurface structure.

Similar to textured perfect electric conductors for electromagnetic waves sustaining artificial or spoof surface plasmons we present an equivalent phenomena for the case of sound. Aided by a minimal model that is able to capture the complex wave interaction of elastic cavity modes and airborne sound radiation in perfect rigid panels, we construct designer acoustoelastic surface waves that are entirely controlled by the geometrical environment. Comparisons to results obtained by full-wave simulations confirm the feasibility of the model and we demonstrate illustrative examples such as resonant transmissions and waveguiding to show a few examples of many where spoof elastic surface waves are useful.

Full Text Available Similar to textured perfect electric conductors for electromagnetic waves sustaining artificial or spoof surface plasmons we present an equivalent phenomena for the case of sound. Aided by a minimal model that is able to capture the complex wave interaction of elastic cavity modes and airborne sound radiation in perfect rigid panels, we construct designer acoustoelastic surface waves that are entirely controlled by the geometrical environment. Comparisons to results obtained by full-wave simulations confirm the feasibility of the model and we demonstrate illustrative examples such as resonant transmissions and waveguiding to show a few examples of many where spoof elastic surface waves are useful.

Wavepacket propagation calculations are reported for the interaction of a Rydberg hydrogen atom ($n=2-8)$ with Cu(111) and Cu(100) surfaces (represented by a Chulkov potential), in comparison with a Jellium surface. Both copper surfaces have a projected band gap at the surface in the energy range degenerate with some or all of the Rydberg energies. The charge transfer of the Rydberg electron to the surface is found to be enhanced for $n$ values at which there is a near-degeneracy between the Rydberg energy level and an image state or a surfacestate of the surface. The enhancement is facilitated by the strong overlap of the surface image-state orbital lying outside the surface and the orbital of the incoming Rydberg atom. These calculations point to the possibility of using Rydberg-surface collisions as a probe of surface electronic structure.

Full Text Available Form-finding has to be carried out for tensioned fabric structure in order to determine the initial equilibrium shape under prescribed support condition and prestress pattern. Tensioned fabric structures are normally designed to be in the form of equal tensioned surface. Tensioned fabric structure is highly suited to be used for realizing surfaces of complex or new forms. However, research study on a new form as a tensioned fabric structure has not attracted much attention. Another source of inspiration minimal surface which could be adopted as form for tensioned fabric structure is very crucial. The aim of this study is to propose initial equilibrium shape of tensioned fabric structures in the form of Chen-Gackstatter. Computational form-finding using nonlinear analysis method is used to determine the Chen-Gackstatter form of uniformly stressed surfaces. A tensioned fabric structure must curve equally in opposite directions to give the resulting surface a three dimensional stability. In an anticlastic doubly curved surface, the sum of all positive and all negative curvatures is zero. This study provides an alternative choice for structural designer to consider the Chen-Gackstatter applied in tensioned fabric structures. The results on factors affecting initial equilibrium shape can serve as a reference for proper selection of surface parameter for achieving a structurally viable surface.

Similar to textured perfect electric conductors for electromagnetic waves sustaining artificial or spoof surface plasmons we present an equivalent phenomena for the case of sound. Aided by a minimal model that is able to capture the complex wave interaction of elastic cavity modes and airborne...... sound radiation in perfect rigid panels, we construct designer acoustoelastic surface waves that are entirely controlled by the geometrical environment. Comparisons to results obtained by full-wave simu- lations confirm the feasibility of the model and we demonstrate illustrative examples...

Artificially designed acoustic meta-surfaces have the ability to manipulate sound energy to an extraordinary extent. Here, we report on a new type of directional reflective surface consisting of an array of sub-wavelength Helmholtz resonators with varying internal coiled path lengths, which induce a reflection phase gradient along a planar acoustic meta-surface. The acoustically reshaped reflective surface created by the gradient-impeding meta-surface yields a distinct focal line similar to a parabolic cylinder antenna, and is used for directive sound beamforming. Focused beam steering can be also obtained by repositioning the source (or receiver) off axis, i.e., displaced from the focal line. Besides flat reflective surfaces, complex surfaces such as convex or conformal shapes may be used for sound beamforming, thus facilitating easy application in sound reinforcement systems. Therefore, directional reflective surfaces have promising applications in fields such as acoustic imaging, sonic weaponry, and underwater communication.

Artificially designed acoustic meta-surfaces have the ability to manipulate sound energy to an extraordinary extent. Here, we report on a new type of directional reflective surface consisting of an array of sub-wavelength Helmholtz resonators with varying internal coiled path lengths, which induce a reflection phase gradient along a planar acoustic meta-surface. The acoustically reshaped reflective surface created by the gradient-impeding meta-surface yields a distinct focal line similar to a parabolic cylinder antenna, and is used for directive sound beamforming. Focused beam steering can be also obtained by repositioning the source (or receiver) off axis, i.e., displaced from the focal line. Besides flat reflective surfaces, complex surfaces such as convex or conformal shapes may be used for sound beamforming, thus facilitating easy application in sound reinforcement systems. Therefore, directional reflective surfaces have promising applications in fields such as acoustic imaging, sonic weaponry, and underwater communication. PMID:27562634

The formability of AZ31 sheet begins to increase drastically at 150 ℃. The incremental forming technique was thus applied to AZ31 sheet at 150 ℃ to utilize the formability to its fullest capacity at the lowest possible temperature for forming applications. A surface scanning technique was used followed by the tool path generation to incrementally form an egg surface. After thorough examination of various tool paths, the surface was most successfully produced by forming an intermediate shape followed by a series of tool paths. Flexible scale stickers were devised to improve the accuracy in the measurement of grid deformation.

A method (50) is provided for processing a graded-density AR silicon surface (14) to provide effective surface passivation. The method (50) includes positioning a substrate or wafer (12) with a silicon surface (14) in a reaction or processing chamber (42). The silicon surface (14) has been processed (52) to be an AR surface with a density gradient or region of black silicon. The method (50) continues with heating (54) the chamber (42) to a high temperature for both doping and surface passivation. The method (50) includes forming (58), with a dopant-containing precursor in contact with the silicon surface (14) of the substrate (12), an emitter junction (16) proximate to the silicon surface (14) by doping the substrate (12). The method (50) further includes, while the chamber is maintained at the high or raised temperature, forming (62) a passivation layer (19) on the graded-density silicon anti-reflection surface (14).

Unpaired spins in amorphous surface oxides can act as a source of decoherence in superconducting and other solid-state qubits. A density of surface spins can give rise to low-frequency magnetic flux noise, which in turn leads to dephasing of the qubit state. In addition, magnetic surfacestates can couple to high-frequency resonant magnetic fields, and thereby contribute to energy relaxation of the qubit. We present the results of low-frequency measurements of the nonlinear and imaginary spin susceptibility of surface magnetic states in superconducting devices at millikelvin temperatures. In addition, we describe high-frequency magnetic resonance measurements that directly probe the surface spin density of states. We present calculations that connect the measurement results to qubit energy relaxation and dephasing times.

Strategic stainless steel surfaces have been developed by which the tribological properties are significantly improved for sheet metal forming compared to as received surfaces. The improvements have been achieved by modification of the surface in order to promote micro-plasto hydrodynamic lubrica...

The article discusses the results of investigations of porous films of alumina, formed into oxalic electrolyte with addition surface active agents, in particular, ordering structure, roughness of a surface, the optical transparency of the electrolyte concentration and surface active agents. Also discusses the features of the formation of porous films of temperature and IR radiation.

Powdering/exfoliating of coatings and scratching are the main forms of surface damage in the forming of galvanized steels and high strength steels (HSS), which result in increased die maintenance cost and scrap rate.In this study, a special rectangular box was developed to investigate the behavior and characteristics of surface damage in sheet metal forming (SMF) processes.U-channel forming tests were conducted to study the effect of tool hardness on surface damage in the forming of high strength steels and galvanized steels (hot-dip galvanized and galvannealed steels).Experimental results indicate that sheet deformation mode influences the severity of surface damage in SMF and surface damage occurs easily at the regions where sheet specimen deforms under the action of compressive stress.Die corner is the position where surface damage initiates.For HSS sheet, surface damage is of major interest due to high forming pressure.The HSS and hot-dip galvanized steels show improved ability of damage-resistance with increased hardness of the forming tool.However, for galvannealed steel it is not the forming tool with the highest hardness value that performs best.

We have investigated the possible existence of a quasi-bound state for the \\Sigma -\\Sigma -\\alpha system in the framework of Faddeev calculations. We are particularly interested in the state of total iso-spin T=2, since for an inert \\alpha particle there is no strong conversion to \\Xi -N-\\alpha or \\Lambda -\\Lambda -\\alpha possible. A \\Sigma -\\alpha optical potential based on Nijmegen model D and original \\Sigma -\\Sigma interactions of the series of Nijmegen potentials NSC97 as well a simulated Gaussian type versions thereof are used. Our investigation of the \\Sigma -\\Sigma -\\alpha system leads to a quasi bound state where, depending on the potential parameters, the energy ranges between -1.4 and -2.4 MeV and the level width is about 0.2MeV.

Forming simulation technologies continues to develop at a rapid pace, to address formability, tolerance control, and product performance issues in an increasing range of processes, and in ever more detail. Springback prediction and compensation continue to evolve, with new concepts for improving the accuracy of the springback prediction for example by the incorporation of geometric drawbeads, and further refinement in compensation techniques. The paper highlights how the integration of simulation and geometry plays an ever more important role, in improving accuracy and reducing time. Other techniques which can help speed-up and improve simulation results for hydroforming, and tube bending are `classical' and more recently `in-process' optimization techniques. The paper will show the advantages on an industrial case, and the potential for the future. The paper will discuss how the PAM-STAMP 2G™ and PAM-TUBE 2G™ integrated solutions are successfully implemented to deliver a positive business impact, by providing virtual product quality assessment, tolerance control, and springback compensation. The paper will also discuss how new forming processes such as hot forming, superplastic forming, and tube hydroforming, can be accurately modeled using the new modules.

A stable Cassie-Baxter (CB) wetting state is indispensable for the superhydrophobicity of solid surfaces. In this paper, we analyze the equilibrium and stability of CB wetting states. Using an energy approach, the stability criteria of CB wetting states are established for solid surfaces with either two- or three-dimensional symmetric microstructures. A generic method is presented to calculate the critical pressure at which the CB state on a microstructured solid surface collapses. The method holds for microstructures with arbitrary generatrix, and explicit solutions are derived for a few representative microstructures with a straight or circular generatrix. In addition, some possible strategies are proposed to design surface structures with stable CB wetting states from the viewpoints of geometry and chemistry.

A component for a turbine engine includes a substrate that includes a first surface, and an insert coupled to the substrate proximate the substrate first surface. The component also includes a channel. The channel is defined by a first channel wall formed in the substrate and a second channel wall formed by at least one coating disposed on the substrate first surface. The component further includes an inlet opening defined in flow communication with the channel. The inlet opening is defined by a first inlet wall formed in the substrate and a second inlet wall defined by the insert.

The measurement for single-point coordinate, length and large-dimension curved surface in industrial measurement can be achieved through forward intersection measurement by the theodolite measuring system composed of several optical theodolites and one computer. The measuring principle of flexible large-dimension three-coordinate measuring system made up of multiple (above two) optical theodolites and composition and functions of the system have been introduced in this paper. Especially for measurement of curved surface, 3D measured data of spatial free-formsurface is acquired through the theodolite measuring system and the CAD model is formed through surface fitting to directly generate CAM processing data.

In biology and functional genomics in particular, understanding the dependence and interplay between different genome and ecological characteristics of organisms is a very challenging problem. There are some public databases which combine this kind of information, but there is still much more information about microbes and other organisms that reside in unstructured and semi-structured documents, such as encyclopaedias. In this paper we present a method for extracting information from semi-structured resources, such as encyclopaedias, based on finite state transducers, consisting of two clearly distinguished phases. The first phase strongly relies on the analysis of the document structure and it is used for locating records of data in the text. The second phase is based on the finite state transducers created for extracting the data, which can be modified so as to achieve the preferred efficiency and it is used for extracting the particular characteristic from the text. We show how the two phase method is applied to the text of the encyclopaedia "Systematic Bacteriology". A fully structured database with genotype and phenotype characteristics of organisms has been created from the encyclopaedia unstructured descriptions.

Systematic ab initio structure prediction was applied for the first time to predict low energy surface reconstructions by employing the minima hopping method on the α-boron (111) surface. Novel reconstruction geometries were identified and carefully characterized in terms of structural and electronic properties. Our calculations predict the formation of a planar, monolayer sheet at the surface, which is responsible for conductive surfacestates. Furthermore, the isolated boron sheet is shown to be the ground state 2D structure in vacuum at a hole density of η=1/5 and is therefore a potential candidate as a precursor for boron nanostructures.

Chemical forms of the phosphate adsorbed on goethite surfaces and characteristics of the coordinate groups which exchange with P on goethite surfaces in solutions with different pll values were investigated.Results showed that the chemical forms of P on goethite surfaces changed from the dominance of monodentate corrdination to that of bidentate one with increasing pH of the solution.By influencing types of phosphate ions in solutions,pH affected the chemical forms of P on goethite surfaces,The amount of OH- displaced by phosphae on goethite surfaces was the most at pH 7.0,the second at pH 9.0,and the least at pH 4.5.

A method of forming a high surface area transparent conducting electrode is provided that includes depositing a transparent conducting thin film on a conductive substrate, where the transparent conducting thin film includes transparent conductive particles and a solution-based transparent conducting adhesive layer which serves to coat and bind together the transparent conducting particles, and heat treating the transparent conducting adhesion layer on the conductive substrate, where an increased surface area transparent conducting electrode is formed.

Full Text Available The sorption behavior and the physical and chemical forms of neptunium on the surface of minerals of the two chlorate samples, biotite and kaolin, with different contents of Fe(II was studied. The liquid-liquid extraction and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to identify the valence forms of neptunium. On the basis of the obtained data the quantitative elemental composition of the surface of the studied minerals, as well as the ionic composition of the formed neptunium complexes was determined. It was shown that the Np(IV and Np(VI containing compounds did not form, while the complexes Np(VO+ -hydroxyl did form on the surface. The oxygen ions bonded with iron and oxygen belonging to water and/or of carboxyl were suggested to be present in the equatorial plane of the neptunyl group NpO+.

In this paper, Bending-Under-Tension, an off-line test method simulating deep-drawing, is chosen for investigating the effectiveness of multifunctional (MUFU) surfaces in metal forming operations. Four different MUFU surfaces, characterized by a plateau bearing area and grooves for lubricant...... retention, are manufactured, together with two polished references. During the tests, surface texture is the only variable. The results show how MUFU surfaces perform better than the polished references, which produce severe galling, while MUFU surfaces with low bearing area display no clear evidence...

The factors influencing the state and wetting transition of droplets on a rough surface are both complex and obscure. The change in wetting is directly reflected by changes under the contact condition of the droplets with the surface. The recent study about the wettability of the superhydrophobic surface under the condensing condition arouses the new understanding about the apparent state of droplets on a rough surface, in this work, to validate the existence of droplets in an intermediate state, a microscale pillar topological polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface was manufactured and its wettability under various conditions was studied. According to the experimental data, it is proposed that the wetting state of a rough surface may be embodied using the contact area ratio of a solid/liquid/gas droplet with the projective plane. A general calculation model for the apparent contact angle of droplets is given and expressed diagrammatically. It is found that the measured apparent contact angles of droplets at dif-ferent states on the surface falls within the range predicted by our proposed equation.

The factors influencing the state and wetting transition of droplets on a rough surface are both complex and obscure. The change in wetting is directly reflected by changes under the contact condition of the droplets with the surface. The recent study about the wettability of the superhydrophobic surface under the condensing condition arouses the new understanding about the apparent state of droplets on a rough surface. In this work, to validate the existence of droplets in an intermediate state, a microscale pillar topological polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface was manufactured and its wettability under various conditions was studied. According to the experimental data, it is proposed that the wetting state of a rough surface may be embodied using the contact area ratio of a solid/liquid/gas droplet with the projective plane. A general calculation model for the apparent contact angle of droplets is given and expressed diagrammatically. It is found that the measured apparent contact angles of droplets at dif- ferent states on the surface falls within the range predicted by our proposed equation.

Surfacestates and their influence on the Fermi level at the surface of GaN and AlN are studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The effect of polarity on surface electronic properties was studied. Accurate modeling of the valence band edge and comparison with XPS data revealed the presence of donor surfacestates at 1.4 eV and acceptor states at energies > 2.7 eV from the valence band in GaN. Al polar AlN showed acceptor states at energies > 3.3 eV. Density of acceptor surfacestates was estimated to be between 10(13) and 10(14) eV(-1) cm(-2) in both GaN and AlN. The shift in charge neutrality levels and barrier heights due to polarity and the density of surfacestates on AlN and GaN were estimated from XPS measurements. Theoretical modeling and comparison with XPS data implied full compensation of spontaneous polarization charge by charged surfacestates. Barrier height measurements also reveal a dependence on polarity with phi(metal-polar)>phi(non-polar)>phi(nitrogen-polar) suggesting that the N-polar surface is the most suitable for Ohmic contacts. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

The discontinuities in height and velocity, namely jumps, formed in free-surface flows are important processes in geophysics, for instance when they are formed during the interaction of avalanche-flows with protection structures. The present study investigates steady state jumps formed in free-surface flows with the help of numerical simulations based on depth-averaged equations. A control constant mass discharge is supplied to an incline. By imposing a difference in basal friction between a upper part of the chute bottom and a lower part of the chute bottom, a supercritical flow is produced upstream while a subcritical flow appears downstream. The transition between both gives birth to a jump located at the transition between the two portions of the chute with different basal friction. Different constitutive equations are tested (laminar, turbulent, local granular rheology, Voellmy, Herschel Bulkley), thus allowing us to quantify the influence of the fluid rheology on the jump properties : position, geometry and size.

Laser formation of a protective zinc oxide layer on a surface of products from copper alloys is present. This layer is formed with using of carbon nanotubes. Destructions of the basic material are avoided or minimized at laser nanostructuring of product surfaces. Such laser processing can be made repeatedly. Offered covering have self-clearing and water-repellent properties.

State distillation is the process of taking a number of imperfect copies of a particular quantum state and producing fewer better copies. Until recently, the lowest overhead method of distilling states produced a single improved |A〉 state given 15 input copies. New block code state distillation methods can produce k improved |A〉 states given 3k + 8 input copies, potentially significantly reducing the overhead associated with state distillation. We construct an explicit surface code implementation of block code state distillation and quantitatively compare the overhead of this approach to the old. We find that, using the best available techniques, for parameters of practical interest, block code state distillation does not always lead to lower overhead, and, when it does, the overhead reduction is typically less than a factor of three. PMID:23736868

The J-integral based criterion is widely used in elastic-plastic fracture mechanics. However, it is not rigorously applicable when plastic unloading appears during crack propagation. One difficulty is that the energy density with plastic unloading in the J-integral cannot be defined unambiguously. In this paper, we alternatively start from the analysis on the power balance, and propose a surface-forming energy release rate (ERR), which represents the energy available for separating the crack surfaces during the crack propagation and excludes the loading-mode-dependent plastic dissipation. Therefore the surface-forming ERR based fracture criterion has wider applicability, including elastic-plastic crack propagation problems. Several formulae are derived for calculating the surface-forming ERR. From the most concise formula, it is interesting to note that the surface-forming ERR can be computed using only the stress and deformation of the current moment, and the definition of the energy density or work density is avoided. When an infinitesimal contour is chosen, the expression can be further simplified. For any fracture behaviors, the surface-forming ERR is proven to be path-independent, and the path-independence of its constituent term, so-called Js-integral, is also investigated. The physical meanings and applicability of the proposed surface-forming ERR, traditional ERR, Js-integral and J-integral are compared and discussed. Besides, we give an interpretation of Rice paradox by comparing the cohesive fracture model and the surface-forming ERR based fracture criterion.

Fast non-destructive multi-wavelength UV imaging together with multivariate image analysis was utilized to visualize distribution of chemical components and their solid stateform at compact surfaces. Amorphous and crystalline solid forms of the antidiabetic compound glibenclamide...... and excipients in a non-invasive way, as well as mapping the glibenclamide solid stateform. An exploratory data analysis supported the critical evaluation of the mapping results and the selection of model parameters for the chemical mapping. The present study demonstrated that the multi-wavelength UV imaging...

The reconstruction of free-formsurface is a fundamental problem in digital manufacture. This article presents a novel solution to reconstructing free-formsurface from an intensity image under the Lambertian reflection model,that is a method called shape from shading (SFS). Our approach is based on the two-dimensional cellular automata (CA), and fully uses the local information of both image and the reconstructed surface. After several iterations, the free-formsurface corresponding to the input image is obtained. The encouraging results on both synthetic and real-world images are provided in this paper, and the performance of our algorithm is analyzed on synthetic images using mean and standard deviation of depth (Z) errors.

A measurement system is presented for the surfaceform measurement of a cylindrical workpiece with periodic microstructures generated on the outer surface of the workpiece. The main components of the measurement system are a spindle to rotate the workpiece, and an air-bearing displacement sensor with a diamond micro stylus to detect the surfaceform of the workpiece. The surfaceform of the micro-structured workpiece was measured in different rotation speeds and the relationship between the measurement repeatability and the rotation speed was investigated. The Fourier transform analysis and the wavelet transform analysis were employed to analyze the measurement results in the time-frequency domain for the identification of the error sources with specific frequency characteristics.

Analytical studies of the effect of edge decoration on the energy spectrum of semi-infinite one-dimensional (1D) model and zigzag edged graphene (ZEG) are presented by means of transfer matrix method,in the frame of which the conditions for the existence of edge states are determined.For 1D model,the zero-energy surfacestate occurs regardless of whether the decorations exist or not,while the non-zero-energy surfacestates can be induced and manipulated through adjusting the edge decoration.On the other hand,the case for the semi-infinite ZEG model with nearestneighbour interaction is discussed in the analogous way.The non-zero-energy surfacestates can be induced by the edge decoration and moreover,the ratio between the edge hopping and the bulk hopping amplitudes should be within a certain threshold.

Present a novel method of 3D shape measurement of optical free-from surface based on fringe projection. A virtual reference surface is proposed which can be used to improve the detection efficiency and realize the automation of measuring process. Sinusoidal fringe patterns are projected to the high reflected surface of the measured object. The deflection fringe patterns that modulated by the object surface are captured by the CCD camera. The slope information can be obtained by analyzing the relationship between the phase deflectometry and the slope of the object surface. The wave-front reconstruction method is used to reconstruct the surface. With the application of fringe projection technology the accuracy of optical free-formsurfaces measurement could reach the level of tens of micrometer or even micrometer.

The soluble cytoplasmic protein pyruvate kinase (PK) has been expressed at the cell surface in a membrane-anchored form (APK). The hybrid protein contains the NH2-terminal signal/anchor domain of a class II integral membrane protein (hemagglutinin/neuraminidase, of the paramyxovirus SV5) fused to the PK NH2 terminus. APK contains a cryptic site that is used for N-linked glycosylation but elimination of this site by site-specific mutagenesis does not prevent cell surface localization. Truncated forms of the APK molecule, with up to 80% of the PK region of APK removed, can also be expressed at the cell surface. These data suggest that neither the complete PK molecule nor its glycosylation are necessary for intracellular transport of PK to the cell surface, and it is possible that specific signals may not be needed in the ectodomain of this hybrid protein to specify cell surface localization.

The specific surface area of methane hydrates, formed both in the presence and absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and processed in different manners (stirring, compacting, holding the hydrates at the formation conditions for different periods of time, cooling the hydrates for different periods of time before depressurizing them), was measured under atmospheric pressure and temperatures below ice point. It was found that the specific surface area of hydrate increased with the decreasing temperature. The methane hydrate in the presence of SDS was shown to be of bigger specific surface areas than pure methane hydrates. The experimental results further demonstrated that the manners of forming and processing hydrates affected the specific surface area of hydrate samples. Stirring or compacting made the hydrate become finer and led to a bigger specific surface area.

A systematic study of irreversible magnetization was performed in bulk niobium after different surface treatments. Starting with smooth surfaces and abrading them, a strong increase of the critical current is observed up to an apparent limiting value. An impressive change of the critical current is also observed in the surface superconductivity (SSC) state, reaching values of the same order of magnitude as in the mixed state. We explain also the observation of strong SSC for magnetic fields perpendicular to large facets in terms of nucleation of superconductivity along bumps of a corrugated surface.

Recently, it has been required to improve qualities of aspherical lenses mounted on camera units. Optical lenses in highvolume production generally are applied with molding process using cemented carbide or Ni-P coated steel, which can be selected from lens material such as glass and plastic. Additionally it can be obtained high quality of the cut or ground surface on mold due to developments of different mold product technologies. As results, it can be less than 100nmPV as form-error and 1nmRa as surface roughness in molds. Furthermore it comes to need higher quality, not only formerror( PV) and surface roughness(Ra) but also other surface characteristics. For instance, it can be caused distorted shapes at imaging by middle spatial frequency undulations on the lens surface. In this study, we made focus on several types of sinuous structures, which can be classified into form errors for designed surface and deteriorate optical system performances. And it was obtained mold product processes minimalizing undulations on the surface. In the report, it was mentioned about the analyzing process by using PSD so as to evaluate micro undulations on the machined surface quantitatively. In addition, it was mentioned that the grinding process with circumferential velocity control was effective for large aperture lenses fabrication and could minimalize undulations appeared on outer area of the machined surface, and mentioned about the optical glass lens molding process by using the high precision press machine.

Two approaches to produce wear-resistant effective surfaces for deep drawing tools by thermal arc wire spraying of hard materials are presented. Arc wire spraying is a very economic coating technique due to a high deposition rate. The coated surface is very rough compared to that of conventional sheet metal forming tools. In the first approach, the coated surface is smoothed in a subsequent CNC-based incremental roller burnishing process. In this process, the surface asperities on the surface are flattened, and the roughness is significantly reduced. In the second approach, the hard material coatings are not sprayed directly on the tool but on a negative mould. Afterward, the rough "as-sprayed" side of the coating is backfilled with a polymer. The bonded hard metal shell is removed from the negative mould and acts as the surface of the hybrid sheet metal forming tool. Sheet metal forming experiments using tools based on these two approaches demonstrate that they are suitable to form high-strength steels. Owing to a conventional body of steel or cast iron, the first approach is suitable for large batch sizes. The application of the second approach lies within the range of small up to medium batch size productions.

Despite a lot of research done in the field of laser forming, generation of a symmetric bowl shaped surface by this process is still a challenge mainly because only a portion of the sheet is momentarily deformed in this process, unlike conventional sheet metal forming like deep drawing where the entire blank undergoes forming simultaneously reducing asymmetry to a minimum. The motion of laser beam also makes the process asymmetric. To counter these limitations this work proposes a new approach for laser forming of a bowl shaped surface by irradiating the centre of a flat circular blank with a stationary laser beam. With high power lasers, power density sufficient for laser forming, can be availed at reasonably large spot sizes. This advantage is exploited in this technique. Effects of duration of laser irradiation and beam spot diameter on the amount of bending and asymmetry in the formedsurface were investigated. Laser power was kept constant while varying irradiation time. While varying laser spot diameter laser power was chosen so as to keep the surface temperature nearly constant at just below melting. Experimental conditions promoted almost uniform heating through sheet thickness. The amount of bending increased with irradiation time and spot diameter. It was interesting to observe that blanks bent towards the laser beam for smaller laser beam diameters and the reverse happened for larger spot diameters (~10 times of the sheet thickness). Effect of spot diameter variation has been explained with the help of coupled thermal-structural finite element simulations.

The back side recessed cooling surface of a shroud defining in part the hot gas path of a turbine is electrochemically machined to provide surface roughness elements and spaces therebetween to increase the heat transfer coefficient. To accomplish this, an electrode with insulating dielectric portions and non-insulating portions is disposed in opposition to the cooling surface. By passing an electrolyte between the cooling surface and electrode and applying an electrical current between the electrode and a shroud, roughness elements and spaces therebetween are formed in the cooling surface in opposition to the insulating and non-insulating portions of the electrode, hence increasing the surface area and heat transfer coefficient of the shroud.

We study the ability of a variety of fitting techniques to extract the ground state matrix elements of the vector current from ratios of nucleon three- and two-point functions that contain contaminations from excited states. Extending our high-statistics study of nucleon form factors, we are able to demonstrate that the treatment of excited-state contributions in conjunction with approaching the physical pion mass has a significant impact on the $Q^2$-dependence of the form factors.

Emergent physics is one of the most important concepts in modern physics, and one of the most intriguing examples is the emergent gauge field. Here we show that a gauge field emerges for a chiral bound stateformed by two attractively interacting particles on a curved surface. We demonstrate explicitly that the center-of-mass wave function of such a deeply bound state is monopole harmonic instead of spherical harmonic, which means that the bound state experiences a magnetic monopole at the center of the sphere. This emergent gauge field is due to the coupling between the center-of-mass and the relative motion on a curved surface, and our results can be generalized to an arbitrary curved surface. This result establishes an intriguing connection between the space curvature and gauge field, and paves an alternative way to engineer a topological state with space curvature, and may be observed in a cold atom system.

We investigate the effects of fluctuations of the nuclear surface on the harmonic oscillator elastic charge form factor of light nuclei, while simultaneously approximating the short-range correlations through a Jastrow correlation ~factor. Inclusion of surface-fluctuation effects within this description, by truncating the cluster expansion at the two-body part, is found to improve somewhat the fit to the elastic charge form-factor of ^{16}O and ^{40}Ca. However, the convergence of the cluster expansion is expected to deteriorate. An additional finding is that the surface-fluctuation correlations produce a drastic change in the asymptotic behavior of the point-proton form factor, which now falls off quite slowly (i.e. as const. \\cdot q^{-4}) at large values of the momentum transfer q.

We study the electron emission produced by swift protons impinging grazingly on a Be(0001) surface. The process is described within a collisional formalism using the band-structure-based (BSB) approximation to represent the electron-surface interaction. The BSB model provides an accurate description of the electronic band structure of the solid and the surface-induced potential. Within this approach we derive both bulk and surface electronic states, with these latter characterized by a strong localization at the crystal surface. We found that such surface electronic states play an important role in double-differential energy- and angle-resolved electron emission probabilities, producing noticeable structures in the electron emission spectra.

By using the "subtracting projectors" method in proving the separability of PPT states on multiple quantum spaces, we derive a canonical form of PPT states in ${\\Cb}^{K_1} \\otimes {\\Cb}^{K_2} \\otimes ... \\otimes {\\Cb}^{K_m} \\otimes {\\Cb}^N$ composite quantum systems with rank $N$, from which a sufficient separability condition for these states is presented.

One of the major problems in forming of stainless steel sheet is galling due to lubricant film breakdown leading to scoring and bad surface quality. In a Danish research programme new lubricants substituting the normally applied chlorinated paraffin oils are being developed and tested for this pu......One of the major problems in forming of stainless steel sheet is galling due to lubricant film breakdown leading to scoring and bad surface quality. In a Danish research programme new lubricants substituting the normally applied chlorinated paraffin oils are being developed and tested...

Substrate engineering is a key factor in the synthesis of new complex materials. The substrate surface has to be conditioned in order to minimize the energy threshold for the formation of the desired phase or to enhance the catalytic activity of the substrate. The mechanism of the substrate activity, especially of technologically relevant oxide surfaces, is poorly understood. Here we design and synthesize several distinct and stable CeO2 (001) surface reconstructions which are used to grow epitaxial films of the high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7. The film grown on the substrate having the longest, fourfold period, reconstruction exhibits a twofold increase in performance over surfaces with shorter period reconstructions. This is explained by the crossover between the nucleation site dimensions and the period of the surface reconstruction. This result opens a new avenue for catalysis mediated solid state synthesis.

Using the ‘Liouville space’ (the space of operators) of the massive Dirac theory, we define mixed-stateform factors of U(1) twist fields. We consider mixed states with density matrices diagonal in the asymptotic particle basis. This includes the thermal Gibbs state as well as all generalized Gibbs ensembles of the Dirac theory. When the mixed state is specialized to a thermal Gibbs state, using a Riemann-Hilbert problem and low-temperature expansion, we obtain finite-temperature form factors of U(1) twist fields. We then propose the expression for form factors of U(1) twist fields in general diagonal mixed states. We verify that these form factors satisfy a system of nonlinear functional differential equations, which is derived from the trace definition of mixed-stateform factors. At last, under weak analytic conditions on the eigenvalues of the density matrix, we write down the large distance form factor expansions of two-point correlation functions of these twist fields. Using the relation between the Dirac and Ising models, this provides the large-distance expansion of the Rényi entropy (for integer Rényi parameter) in the Ising model in diagonal mixed states.

With an elastic negative pole being driven by ultra so nic vibration and being moved along the surface of work-piece compliantly by ro bot, a new kind of effective EDM, the compliant EDM, cuts the electrically condu ctive materials away and polishes work-piece of free-formsurface. The study o f the contact force between the end of polishing tool and the surface of work-p iece is the key for the compliant EDM to study its cutting mechanism and to make better use of it. This paper makes a model for the cont...

Visual method is now broadly used in reverse engineering for 3D reconstruction. Thetraditional computer vision methods are feature-based, i.e., they require that the objects must revealfeatures owing to geometry or textures. For textureless free-formsurfaces, dense feature points areadded artificially. In this paper, a new method is put forward combining computer vision with CAGD.The surface is subdivided into N-side Gregory patches using marked curves, and a stereo algorithm isused to reconstruct the curves. Then, the cross boundary tangent vector is computed throughreflectance analysis. At last, the whole surface can be reconstructed by jointing these patches withG1 continuity.

Coiled-coil peptide–polymer conjugates are an emerging class of biomaterials. Fundamental understanding of the coiled-coil oligomeric state and assembly process of these hybrid building blocks is necessary to exert control over their assembly into well-defined structures. Here, we studied the effect of peptide structure and PEGylation on the self-assembly process and oligomeric state of a Langmuir monolayer of amphiphilic coiled-coil peptide–polymer conjugates using X-ray reflectivity (XR) and grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD). Our results show that the oligomeric state of PEGylated amphiphiles based on 3-helix bundle-forming peptide is surface pressure dependent, a mixture of dimers and trimers was formed at intermediate surface pressure but transitions into trimers completely upon increasing surface pressure. Moreover, the interhelical distance within the coiled-coil bundle of 3-helix peptide-PEG conjugate amphiphiles was not perturbed under high surface pressure. Present studies provide valuable insights into the self-assembly process of hybrid peptide–polymer conjugates and guidance to develop biomaterials with controlled multivalency of ligand presentation. PMID:27784156

The polymorphic forms of donepezil free base have been studied using X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. None of the free base crystal forms was observed to exhibit detectable fluorescence in the solid state under ambient conditions. Crystalline salt products were obtained by the reaction of donepezil with salicylic and methyl-substituted salicylic acids, with the salicylate and 4-methylsalicylate salts being obtained as non-solvated products, and the 3-methylsalicylate and 5-methylsalicylate salts being obtained as methanol solvated products. The intensity of solid-state fluorescence from donepezil salicylate and donepezil 4-methylsalicylate was found to be reduced relative to the fluorescence intensity of the corresponding free acids, while the solid-state fluorescence intensity of donepezil 3-methylsalicylate methanolate and donepezil 5-methylsalicylate methanolate was greatly increased relative to the fluorescence intensity of the corresponding free acids. Desolvation of the solvated salt products led to formation of glassy solids that exhibited strong green fluorescence.

Full Text Available For the purpose of extensive utilization of powder metallurgy to micro/nano- fabrication of materials, the micro gear was prepared by a novel method, named as micro- forming fields activated sintering technology (Micro-FAST. Surface-cleaning of particles, especially during the initial stage of sintering, is a crucial issue for the densification mechanism. However, up to date, the mechanism of surface-cleaning is too complicated to be known. In this paper, the process of surface-cleaning of Micro-FAST was studied, employing the high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM for observation of microstructure of micro-particles. According to the evolution of the microstructure, surface-cleaning is mainly ascribed to the effect of electro-thermal focusing. The process of surface-cleaning is achieved through rearrangement of grains, formation of vacancy, migration of vacancy and enhancement of electro-thermal focusing.

Full Text Available The impeding effect of plant surfaces covered with three-dimensional wax on attachment and locomotion of insects has been shown previously in numerous experimental studies. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of different parameters of crystalline wax coverage on insect attachment. We performed traction experiments with the beetle Coccinella septempunctata and pull-off force measurements with artificial adhesive systems (tacky polydimethylsiloxane semi-spheres on bioinspired wax surfacesformed by four alkanes of varying chain lengths (C36H74, C40H82, C44H90, and C50H102. All these highly hydrophobic coatings were composed of crystals having similar morphologies but differing in size and distribution/density, and exhibited different surface roughness. The crystal size (length and thickness decreased with an increase of the chain length of the alkanes that formed these surfaces, whereas the density of the wax coverage, as well as the surface roughness, showed an opposite relationship. Traction tests demonstrated a significant, up to 30 fold, reduction of insect attachment forces on the wax surfaces when compared with the reference glass sample. Attachment of the beetles to the wax substrates probably relied solely on the performance of adhesive pads. We found no influence of the wax coatings on the subsequent attachment ability of beetles. The obtained data are explained by the reduction of the real contact between the setal tips of the insect adhesive pads and the wax surfaces due to the micro- and nanoscopic roughness introduced by wax crystals. Experiments with polydimethylsiloxane semi-spheres showed much higher forces on wax samples when compared to insect attachment forces measured on these surfaces. We explain these results by the differences in material properties between polydimethylsiloxane probes and tenent setae of C. septempunctata beetles. Among wax surfaces, force experiments showed stronger insect attachment and higher

Multifractal (MF) analysis is used to describe volumes of spatial forms that are formed on the surface of thin layers of ZnxCd1-xTe solid solution grown on the Si (111) substrate. MF analysis is performed on the basis of AFM images of the solid solution surface. The parameters of the MF spectrums for the distribution of volumes of the spatial forms, which formed the surface relief, were found. On the basis of a formal approach and data on the multifractal parameters for the volume and the area of the surface spatial forms the mathematic expression which takes into account the contribution of the fractal surface structure in its surface energy were proposed. The behavior of the surface energy of the system depending on the fractal parameters that describe the volume and the area of the spatial forms on the fractal surface were discussed.

In this study the potential of Fourier transform (FT)-Raman spectroscopy as a method to probe the solid-stateform of active substances present in tablets and capsules is explored. Raman spectra were obtained from intact tablets and capsules containing enalapril maleate, prednisolone, form I and form II polymorphs of ranitidine, anhydrous and monohydrate theophylline, and warfarin sodium clathrate. Spectra were also collected from the corresponding drug substances. These studies show that it is possible to detect the active ingredients in the intact dosage form, even where the substance comprises tablet. Moreover, it is shown that, in some cases, Raman spectroscopy can also be used to investigate the solid-stateform of a drug present in the dosage form and even to determine if a mixture of forms are present.

The area of the southwestern Nansha Trough is one of the most productive areas of the southern South China Sea. It is a typical semi-deep sea area of transition from shoal to abyssal zone. To understand distributions and roles of nitrogen forms involved in biogeochemical cycling in this area, contents of nitrogen in four extractable forms: nitrogen in ion exchangeable form (IEF-N), nitrogen in weak acid extractable form (WAEF-N), nitrogen in strong alkali extractable form (SAEF-N) and nitrogen in strong oxidation extractable form (SOEF-N), as well as in total nitrogen content (TN) in surface sediments were determined from samples collected from the cruise in April - May 1999. The study area was divided into three regions (A, B and C) in terms of clay sediment (60%, respectively. Generally, region C was the richest in the nitrogen of all forms and region A the poorest, indicating that the finer the grain size is, the richer the contents of various nitrogen are. The burial efficiency of total nitrogen in surface sediments was 28.79%, indicating that more than 70% of nitrogen had been released and participated in biogeochemical recycling through sediment-water interface.

Several surface engineering techniques are known that form a hard facing coating on an inexpensive substrate by a successive overlap of individual cladding tracks. Typical examples include laser cladding and laser additive manufacturing. Realistic predicting the final thickness and waviness of the c

Several surface engineering techniques are known that form a hard facing coating on an inexpensive substrate by a successive overlap of individual cladding tracks. Typical examples include laser cladding and laser additive manufacturing. Realistic predicting the final thickness and waviness of the

A topological insulator is classically modeled as an isotropic dielectric-magnetic with a magnetoelectric pseudoscalar $\\Psi$ existing in its bulk while its surface is charge-free and current-free. An alternative model is obtained by setting $\\Psi\\equiv0$ and incorporating surface charge and current densities characterized by an admittance $\\gamma$. Analysis of plane-wave reflection and refraction due to a topological-insulator half space reveals that the parameters $\\Psi$ and $\\gamma$ arise identically in the reflection and transmission coefficients, implying that the two classical models cannot be distinguished on the basis of any scattering scenario. However, as $\\Psi$ disappears from the Maxwell equations applicable to any region occupied by the topological insulator, and because surfacestates exist on topological insulators as protected conducting states, the alternative model must be chosen.

A topological insulator is classically modeled as an isotropic material with a magnetoelectric pseudoscalar Ψ existing in its bulk while its surface is charge free and current free. An alternative model is obtained by setting Ψ≡0 and incorporating surface charge and current densities characterized by an admittance γ. Analysis of planewave reflection and refraction due to a topological-insulator half space reveals that the parameters Ψ and γ arise identically in the reflection and transmission coefficients, implying that the two classical models cannot be distinguished on the basis of any scattering scenario. However, as Ψ disappears from the Maxwell equations applicable to any region occupied by the topological insulator, and because surfacestates exist on topological insulators as protected conducting states, the alternative model must be chosen.

The transport characteristics of low dimensional semiconductors like silicon nano-wires (SiNWs) rarely conform to expectations from geometry and dopant density, exhibiting significant variations as a function of different surface terminations/conditions. The association of these mechanisms with surfacestates and their exact influence on practical SiNW devices still remains largely unclear. Herein, we report on the influence of surfacestate charge distributions on SiNW transport characteristics. For this study, p-type SiNW devices with widths of 50, 100, and 2000 nm are fabricated from 25, 50, and 200 nm-thick SOI wafers. A ˜five order difference in effective carrier concentration was observed in the initial SiNWs characteristics, when comparing SiNWs fabricated with and without a thermal oxide. The removal of the surface oxide by a hydrogen fluoride (HF) treatment results in a SiNW conductance drop up to ˜six orders of magnitude. This effect is from a surface depletion of holes in the SiNW induced by positive surface charges deposited as a result of the HF treatment. However, it is observed that this charge density is transient and is dissipated with the re-growth of an oxide layer. In summary, the SiNW conductance is shown to vary by several orders of magnitude, while comparing its characteristics for the three most studied surface conditions: with a native oxide, thermal oxide and HF induced H-terminations. These results emphasize the necessity to interpret the transport characteristics of SiNWs with respect to its surface condition, during future investigations pertaining to the physical properties of SiNWs, like its piezo-resistance. As a sequel, prospects for efficiently sensing an elementary reduction/oxidation chemical process by monitoring the variation of SiNW surface potential, or in practice the SiNW conductance, is demonstrated.

Interaction forces between the workpiece and the die appear during the cold forming process of metals in dies. Surface forces of high-intensity influence the mesh structure and internal structure of the finished piece by mechanical action. Frictional forces hinder the flow of the material in contact with the die walls, especially on surfaces of complex shape. Under certain conditions, the material can adhere to the wall of the die, leading to the blocking of the cold forming process. In order to highlight the influence of contact forces on cold forming processes in dies with complex surfaces there were used numerical simulation methods with finite elements. Numerical simulations of the process of axial cold forming in the die were carried out for analysis data acquisition necessary, in order to achieve HTD pulleys, for an ordinary range of friction coefficients. The analysis was directed to the gearing area of the HTD pulleys (head, flank and base of the tooth). The analysis highlighted the negative effects of friction forces on the shape and quality of the products and the need to use quality lubricants. Also, using the cold forming process they can be achieved substantial savings by redistribution of the material without removing it.

Multifractal (MF) analysis is used to describe the volume of space forms on the surfaces of structures in the solid solution of a Zn x Cd1- x Te-Si(111) substrate. AFM images of film surfaces have been are used for MF analysis. The parameters of MF spectra are determined for the distribution of volume of surface nanoforms. Based on the formal approach and data on the parameters of the fractal state for the volume and surfaces of nanoforms, an equation is proposed that considers the contribution from the fractal structure of the surface to its surface energy. The behavior of the system's surface energy, depending on fractal parameters that describe states of the volume and surfaces of nanoforms is discussed.

The main aim of this article was to obtain concrete surface quality changes by the usage of different form release agent application. Secondly, to determine blemishes of concrete surfaces and divide them according to combined method provided by two documents and by using computer program: CIB Report No. 24 "Tolerances on blemishes of concrete", GOST 13015.0-83 and "ImageJ". Two different concrete compositions were made: BA1 (low fluidity, vibration is needed) and BA8 (high fluidity, vibration is not needed). Three castings with each formwork were conducted. Water emulsion based form release agent was used. Different applications (normal and excessive) of form release agent were used on the formwork.

Full Text Available Single point incremental forming (SPIF is a novel and potential process for sheet metal prototyping and low volume production applications. This article is focuses on the development of predictive models for surface roughness estimation in SPIF process. Surface roughness in SPIF has been modeled using three different techniques namely, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN, Support Vector Regression (SVR and Genetic Programming (GP. In the development of these predictive models, tool diameter, step depth, wall angle, feed rate and lubricant type have been considered as model variables. Arithmetic mean surface roughness (Ra and maximum peak to valley height (Rz are used as response variables to assess the surface roughness of incrementally formed parts. The data required to generate, compare and evaluate the proposed models have been obtained from SPIF experiments performed on Computer Numerical Control (CNC milling machine using Box–Behnken design. The developed models are having satisfactory goodness of fit in predicting the surface roughness. Further, the GP model has been used for optimization of Ra and Rz using genetic algorithm. The optimum process parameters for minimum surface roughness in SPIF have been obtained and validated with the experiments and found highly satisfactory results within 10% error.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the structure of the surface layer formed on austempered ductile iron (ADI) after exposure to hot concentrated sulphuric acid at the open circuit potential value (OCP). The results derived from polarization measurements carried out in sulphuric acid at a temperature of 90 deg. C show that anodic dissolution of ADI is divided into three stages (corresponding to three anodic dissolution peaks). The structure of the layer formed on alloys at 90 deg. C at OCP was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM analysis shows that the main elements of the surface layer are iron, silicon, oxygen, sulphur, and carbon. The binding energy recorded in individual bands indicates that the surface layer includes mainly SiO{sub 2} and FeOOH. The presence of sulphur at the lower oxidation state (S{sup 2-}) indicates that sulphuric acid undergoes reduction during this process. The corrosion resistance of these alloys is connected with the presence of SiO{sub 2} in the surface layer.

Full Text Available The novel toroidal worm-gearing is a kind of worm transmission with spherical meshing elements, which is made up of worm, steel balls and worm gear, and its loading capacity and adaptability to errors can be improved by the mismatched technology applied to the meshing pair. Based on the directrix of worm surface, the mathematic model of worm surface is established, and the directrix-based forming method for machining worm surface is proposed. Further, the principle error in the machining process is analyzed, and the theoretic and real tooth surfaces of worm are fitted and compared on OpenGL platform. The results show that the tooth profile error can be controlled at the range of 0~1×10-5mm, and it is always 0 at the pressure angle.

We investigate the canonical forms of positive partial transposition (PPT) density matrices in ${\\cal C}^2 \\otimes {\\cal C}^M \\otimes {\\cal C}^N$ composite quantum systems with rank $N$. A general expression for these PPT states are explicitly obtained. From this canonical form a sufficient separability condition is presented.

We study the wetting transition on microstructured hydrophobic surfaces. We use the string method [J. Chem. Phys. 2007, 126, 164103; J. Chem. Phys. 2013, 138, 134105] to accurately compute the transition states, the energy barriers, and the minimum energy paths for the wetting transition from the Cassie-Baxter state to the Wenzel state. Numerical results are obtained for the wetting of a hydrophobic surface textured with a square lattice of pillars. It is found that the wetting of the solid substrate occurs via infiltration of the liquid in a single groove, followed by lateral propagation of the liquid front. The propagation of the liquid front proceeds in a stepwise manner, and a zipping mechanism is observed during the infiltration of each layer. The minimum energy path for the wetting transition goes through a sequence of intermediate metastable states, whose wetted areas reflect the microstructure of the patterned surface. We also study the dependence of the energy barrier on the drop size and the gap between the pillars.

The thermal shock behaviour of blister-covered W surfaces during combined steady-state/pulsed plasma loading was studied by scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. The W samples were first exposed to steady-state D plasma to induce blisters on the surface, and then the blistered surfaces were exposed to steady-state/pulsed plasma. Growth and cracking of blisters were observed after the exposure to the steady-state/pulsed plasma, while no obvious damage occurred on the surface area not covered with blisters. The results confirm that blisters induced by D plasma might represent weak spots on the W surface when exposed to transient heat load of ELMs. The cracks on blisters were different from the cracks due to the transient heat loads reported before, and they were assumed to be caused by stress and strain due to the gas expansion inside the blisters during the plasma pulses. Moreover, most of cracks were found to appear on the blisters formed on grains with surface orientation near [1 1 1].

This study examined the plasma surface modification of biomimetic hydroxyapatite (HAp) formed on a titanium (Ti) surface as well as its influence on the behavior of preosteoblast cells. Ti substrates pre-treated with a plasma-polymerized thin film rich in carboxyl groups were subjected to a biomimetic process in a simulated body fluid solution to synthesize the HAp. The HAp layer grown on Ti substrate was then coated with two types of plasma polymerized acrylic acid and allyl amine thin film. The different types of Ti substrates were characterized by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. HAp with a Ca/P ratio from 1.25 to 1.38 was obtained on the Ti substrate and hydrophilic carboxyl (-COOH) and amine (-NH{sub 2}) functional groups were introduced to its surface. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the surface of the HAp coatings and the morphology of MC3T3-E1 cells. These results showed that the -COOH-modified HAp surfaces promoted the cell spreading synergistically by changing the surface morphology and chemical state.-NH{sub 2} modified HAp had the lowest cell spreading and proliferation compared to HAp and -COOH-modified HAp. These results correspond to fluorescein analysis, which showed many more cell spreading of COOH/HAp/Ti surface compared to HAp and NH{sub 2} modified HAp. A MTT assay was used to evaluate cell proliferation. The results showed that the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells increased in the order of COOH/HAp/Ti > HAp/Ti > NH{sub 2}/Ti > Ti, corresponding to the effect of cell spreading for 6 days. The change in morphology and the chemical surface properties of the biomaterial via plasma polymerization can affect the behavior of MC3T3-E1 cells.

Interest in utilizing aluminum alloys in automobiles has increased in recent years as a result of the desire to lower automobile weight and, consequently, increase fuel economy. While aluminum alloy use in cast parts has increased, outer body panel applications are still being investigated. The industry is interested in improving the formability of these sheet alloys by a combination of alloy design and processing. A different avenue of improving the formability of these alloys may be through patterning of the sheet surface. Surface patterns hold the lubricant during the forming process, with a resulting decrease in the sheet-die surface contact. While it has been speculated that an optimum surface pattern would consist of discrete cavities, detailed investigation into the reduction of forming friction by utilizing discrete patterns is lacking. A series of discrete patterns were investigated to determine the dependence of the forming friction of automotive aluminum alloys on pattern lubricant carrying capacity and on material strength. Automotive aluminum alloys used in outer body panel applications were rolled on experimental rolls that had been prepared with a variety of discrete patterns. All patterns for each alloy were characterized before and after testing both optically and, to determine pattern lubricant capacity, using three dimensional laser profilometry. A draw bead simulation (DBS) friction tester was designed and fabricated to determine the forming friction of the patterned sheets. Tensile testing and frictionless DBS testing were performed to ascertain the material properties of each sheet. The most striking result of this work was the inversely linear dependence of forming friction on the lubricant carrying capacity of the discrete patterns.

Full Text Available In the present study, the non-isothermal early stages of surface oxidation of liquid Mg-1%Y alloy during casting were studied under UPH argon, dry air, and air mixed with protective fluorine-bearing gases. The chemistry and morphology of the surface films were characterized by SEM and EDX analyses. The results indicate a layer of smooth and tightly coherent oxidation film composed of MgO and Y2O3 formed on the molten Mg-Y alloy surface with 40–60 nm thickness under dry air. A dendritic/cellular microstructure is clearly visible with Y-rich second phases gathered in surface of the melt and precipitated along the grain/cell boundaries under all gas conditions. Under fluorine-bearing gas mixtures, the surface film was a mixed oxide and fluoride and more even; a flat and folded morphology can be seen under SF6 with oxide as dominated phase and under 1, 1, 1, 2-tetra-fluoroethane, a smooth and compact surface film uniformly covering the inner surface of the bubble with equal oxide and fluoride thickness, which results in a film without any major defects. MgF2 phase appears to be the key characteristic of a good protective film.

Inspired by the multiplicative nature of the Ramanujan modular discriminant, Δ, we consider physical realizations of certain multiplicative products over the Dedekind eta-function in two parallel directions: the generating function of BPS states in certain heterotic orbifolds and elliptic K3 surfaces associated to congruence subgroups of the modular group. We show that they are, after string duality to type II, the same K3 surfaces admitting Nikulin automorphisms. In due course, we will present identities arising from q-expansions as well as relations to the sporadic Mathieu group M{sub 24}.

The main aim of the study was to analyze the influence of six machining parameters on the chip shape formation and surface roughness as well during turning of Steel 30CrNiMo8. Three components of cutting forces were used as inputs together with cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut. It is crucial for the engineers to use optimal machining parameters to get the best results or to high control of the machining process. Therefore, there is need to find the machining parameters for the optimal procedure of the machining process. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was used to estimate the inputs influence on the chip shape formation and surface roughness. According to the results, the cutting force in direction of the depth of cut has the highest influence on the chip form. The testing error for the cutting force in direction of the depth of cut has testing error 0.2562. This cutting force determines the depth of cut. According to the results, the depth of cut has the highest influence on the surface roughness. Also the depth of cut has the highest influence on the surface roughness. The testing error for the cutting force in direction of the depth of cut has testing error 5.2753. Generally the depth of cut and the cutting force which provides the depth of cut are the most dominant factors for chip forms and surface roughness. Any small changes in depth of cut or in cutting force which provide the depth of cut could drastically affect the chip form or surface roughness of the working material.

We have succeeded in observing Pd nano-clusters, catalytic prime elements, on a GaN(0 0 0 1) surface by a scanning tunneling microscope for the first time. After the sample was reused, we found that nano-clusters (width: 11 nm, height: 2.2 nm) existed on the surface which still kept the catalytic activity, resulting that the neutral Pd atoms formed the nano-cluster. Moreover, the S-termination contributed to the formation of the dense and flat structure consisting of the Pd nano-clusters.

The aim of this study was to investigate the structure of different solid-stateforms of fenofibrate, a drug that lacks strong intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding. In addition to a structural analysis of crystalline and amorphous fenofibrate using infrared and Raman spectroscopy...... structures with the experimental vibrational spectra of crystalline and amorphous fenofibrate revealed conformational differences in the orientation of the two benzyl rings in the fenofibrate molecule and structural differences between the different solid-stateforms in aliphatic parts of the drug molecule...... and multivariate analysis revealed multiple solid-stateforms of fenofibrate, including the metastable crystalline form II, which were structurally analyzed with reference to the quantum chemical calculations. Overall, the study showed that vibrational spectroscopy, multivariate analysis, and quantum chemical...

Full Text Available The problem of combustion of a hexa-tubular charge, which is a cylindrical charge with six holes of equal diameters- one at the centre and the other five symmetrically situated about it, has been considered in this paper. The burning of the charge proceeds in three distinct phases for each of which the form function and variation of burning surface area has been investigated. Equivalent form-factor has also been found. Numerical results for some important cases are tabulated.

Iterations in optimization and numerical simulation for the sheet metal forming process may lead to extensive computation. In addition, uncertainties in materials or processing parameters may have great influence on the design quality. A six sigma optimization method is proposed, by combining the dual response surface method (DRSM) and six sigma philosophy, to save computation cost and improve reliability and robustness of parts. Using this method, statistical technology,including the design of experiment and analysis of variance, approximate model and six sigma philosophy are integrated together to achieve improved quality. Two sheet metal forming processes are provided as examples to illustrate the proposed method.

Full Text Available The article is devoted to process of the state development and emergence of new forms of the government in the region of the North Caucasus during the Civil War. The author tells how forms of a political system and the government in the region after October revolution of 1917 have changed. He analyzes the process of emergence of the new military-political modes and character of a state system in its various areas. In the article, the political background of appearance of new forms of statehood and power organization is also considered. The author equally investigates the forms of the state life created by Bolsheviks and their supporters, and the forms of their political opponents – representatives of the white, antiBolshevist movement. The author emphasizes that it was the period of disintegration of traditional Russian statehood and traditional forms of the organization of the political power in the region. New options of the state system which are directly connected with the crisis of the Russian society in 1917 y. came in the region to replace the old ones. In some cases, they represented rather non-standard forms of the organization of the government, including formation of the Soviet republics in the territory of the region, appearance of the ataman power and military dictatorships. On the one hand, they were based on ethnocultural specifics of regional life, and on the other hand they were defined by the crisis of the period of the Civil War

Topological states of electrons present new avenues to explore the rich phenomenology of correlated quantum matter. Topological insulators (TIs) in particular offer an experimental setting to study novel quantum critical points (QCPs) of massless Dirac fermions, which exist on the sample's surface. Here, we obtain exact results for the zero- and finite-temperature optical conductivity at the semimetal-superconductor QCP for these topological surfacestates. This strongly interacting QCP is described by a scale invariant theory with emergent supersymmetry, which is a unique symmetry mixing bosons and fermions. We show that supersymmetry implies exact relations between the optical conductivity and two otherwise unrelated properties: the shear viscosity and the entanglement entropy. We discuss experimental considerations for the observation of these signatures in TIs.

We propose a new duality relation between codimension two space-like surfaces in gravitational theories and quantum states in dual Hilbert spaces. This surface/state correspondence largely generalizes the idea of holography such that we do not need to rely on any existence of boundaries in gravitational spacetimes. The present idea is motivated by the recent interpretation of AdS/CFT in terms of the tensor networks so called MERA. Moreover, we study this correspondence from the viewpoint of entanglement entropy and information metric. The Cramer-Rao bound in quantum estimation theory implies that the quantum fluctuations of radial coordinate of the AdS is highly suppressed in the large N limit.

A thin metamaterial slab comprising a dielectric spacer sandwiched between a metallic grating and a ground plane is shown to possess spatially coherent surface resonance states that span a large frequency range and can be tuned by structural and material parameters. They give rise to nearly perfect angle-selective absorption and thus exhibit directional thermal emissivity. Direct numerical simulations show that the metamaterial slab supports spatially coherent thermal emission in a wide frequency range that is robust against structural disorder.

After formulating the frequency-domain Maxwell equations for a homogeneous, linear, bianisotropic material occupying a bounded region, we found that the axionic piece vanishes from both the differential equations valid in the region and the boundary conditions, thereby vindicating the Post constraint. Our analysis indicates that characteristic effects that may be observed experimentally with magnetoelectric materials are not the consequences of the axionic piece but of an admittance that describes surfacestates.

This article describes the outline of a numerical integration scheme for a critical state two-surface plasticity model for sands. The model is slightly modified by LeBlanc (2008) compared to the original formulation presented by Manzari and Dafalias (1997) and has the ability to correctly model...... calculations can be performed with the Forward Euler integration scheme. Furthermore, the model is formulated for a single point....

The free energy surface for Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O1O has been measured as a function of temperature and magnetic field to determine the fundamental thermodynamic properties of the mixed state. The change in free energy, G(H)-G(O), is found to be linear in temperature over a wide range indicating that the specific heat is independent of field.

Bulk Bi a prototype semimetal with trivial electronic band topology. Unanticipatedly, we show the Altshuler-Aronov-Spivak and Aharonov-Bohm effects in epitaxial Bi(111) thin films. Meanwhile, we clearly identify the interaction of the top and bottom surfacestates via quantum tunneling by the electrical conductance and weak anti-localization measurements. These results have significantly enriched our understanding about the electronic structure of Bi, which might be helpful for clearing up some of its longstanding subtle issues.

1 T phase incorporation into 2H-MoS2 via an optimal electron irradiation leads to induce a weak ferromagnetic state at room temperature, together with the improved transport property. In addition to the 1T-like defects, the electron irradiation on the cleaved MoS2 surfaceforms the concentric circle-type defects that are caused by the 2 H/1 T phase transition and the vacancies of the nearby S atoms of the Mo atoms. The electron irradiation-reduced bandgap is promising in vanishing the Schottky barrier to attaining spintronics device. The simple method to control and improve the magnetic and electrical properties on the MoS2 surface provides suitable ways for the low-dimensional device applications.

Plasma treatment and 10% NH4OH solution rinsing were performed on a germanium (Ge) surface. It was found that the Ge surface hydrophilicity after O2 and Ar plasma exposure was stronger than that of samples subjected to N2 plasma exposure. This is because the thin GeO x film formed on Ge by O2 or Ar plasma is more hydrophilic than GeO x N y formed by N2 plasma treatment. A flat (RMS direct wafer bonding. Project supported by the Key Project of Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61534005), the National Science Foundation of China (No. 61474081), the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2013CB632103), the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (No. 2015D020), and the Science and Technology Project of Xiamen City (No. 3502Z20154091).

Transition State Theory is a central cornerstone in reaction dynamics. Its key step is the identification of a dividing surface that is crossed only once by all reactive trajectories. This assumption is often badly violated, especially when the reactive system is coupled to an environment. The calculations made in this way then overestimate the reaction rate and the results depend critically on the choice of the dividing surface. In this Letter, we study the phase space of a stochastically driven system close to an energetic barrier in order to identify the geometric structure unambiguously determining the reactive trajectories, which is then incorporated in a simple rate formula for reactions in condensed phase that is both independent of the dividing surface and exact.

The importance of reactions at the surfaces of dust grains has long been recognized to be one of the two main chemical processes that form molecules in cold, dark interstellar clouds where simple, saturated (fully-hydrogenated) molecules such as H2 water, methanol, H2CO, H2S, ammonia and CH4 are present in quantities far too high to be consistent with their extremely low gas phase formation rates. In cold dark regions of interstellar space, dust grains provide a substrate onto which gas-phase species can accrete and react. Grains provide a "third body" or a sink for the energy released in the exothermic reactions that form chemical bonds. In essence, the surfaces of dust grains open up alternative reaction pathways to form observed molecules whose abundances cannot be explained with gas-phase chemistry alone. This concept is taken one step further in this work: instead of merely acting as a substrate onto which radicals and molecules may physically adsorb, some grains may actively participate in the reaction itself, forming chemical bonds with the accreting species. Until recently, surface chemical reactions had not been thought to be important in warm circumstellar media because adspecies rapidly desorb from grains at very low temperatures; thus, the residence times of molecules and radicals on the surface of grains at all but the lowest temperatures are far too short to allow these reactions to occur. However, if the adspecies could adsorb more strongly, via a true chemical bond with surfaces of some dust grains, then grain surface reactions will play an important role in warm circumstellar regions as well. In this work, the surface-catalyzed reaction CO + 3 H2 yields CH4 + H2O is studied in the context that it may be very effective at converting the inorganic molecule CO into the simplest organic compound, methane. H2 and CO are the most abundant molecules in space, and the reaction converting them to methane, while kinetically inhibited in the gas phase under

In this paper, the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow over a nonlinearly (power-law velocity) moving surface is investigated analytically and solutions are presented for a few special conditions. The solutions are obtained in closed forms with hyperbolic functions. The effects of the magnetic, the wall moving, and the mass transpiration parameters are discussed. These solutions are important to show the flow physics as well as to be used as bench mark problems for numerical validation and development of new solution schemes.

Surface defect or damage is one of the critical factors leading to the failure of engineering materials and structures. The methodologies for the measurement of surface shape and feature or defect have been extensively explored and developed over the past few decades, including both contact and non-contact methods. Speckle pattern interferometry, as a non-contact optical method, has been demonstrated to effectively contour the surface shape through adjusting the illumination vector. However, few studies have been made to investigate the effect of the initial position of the illumination source as well as the source translation direction. In this paper, we report to carry out a study of measuring the surfaceform and feature using digital speckle pattern interferometry system via a slight translation of illumination source. Through theoretically analyzing the sensitivity factor along with the experimental validation, it is shown that the contouring fringe is more sensitive to the surface height with an off-axis illumination than the paraxial illumination. It is also found that translating the source along axial and lateral direction can be both used for the surface shape re-construction.

In this work we derive an effective Hamiltonian for the surfacestates of a hollow topological insulator (TI) nanotube with finite width walls. Unlike a solid TI cylinder, a TI nanotube possesses both an inner as well as outer surface on which the states localized at each surface are coupled together. The curvature along the circumference of the nanotube leads to a spatial variation of the spin orbit interaction field experienced by the charge carriers as well as an asymmetry between the inner and outer surfaces of the nanotube. Both of these features result in terms in the effective Hamiltonian for a TI nanotube absent in that of a flat TI thin film of the same thickness. We calculate the numerical values of the parameters for a Bi2Se3 nanotube as a function of the inner and outer radius, and show that the differing relative magnitudes between the parameters result in qualitatively differing behaviour for the eigenstates of tubes of different dimensions.

The long-term stability of ceramic materials that are considered as potential nuclear waste forms is governed by heterogeneous surface reactivity. Thus, instead of a mean rate, the identification of one or more dominant contributors to the overall dissolution rate is the key to predict the stability of waste forms quantitatively. Direct surface measurements by vertical scanning interferometry (VSI) and their analysis via material flux maps and resulting dissolution rate spectra provide data about dominant rate contributors and their variability over time. Using pyrochlore (Nd2Zr2O7) pellet dissolution under acidic conditions as an example, we demonstrate the identification and quantification of dissolution rate contributors, based on VSI data and rate spectrum analysis. Heterogeneous surface alteration of pyrochlore varies by a factor of about 5 and additional material loss by chemo-mechanical grain pull-out within the uppermost grain layer. We identified four different rate contributors that are responsible for the observed dissolution rate range of single grains. Our new concept offers the opportunity to increase our mechanistic understanding and to predict quantitatively the alteration of ceramic waste forms.

As the important evaluation parameters concerning the spray qualities, the porosity and surface roughness of the coatings obtained by thermal spray forming have great influence on their forming accuracy, mechanical properties and service lifetime. But it is difficult to predict or control the two parameters for such a highly nonlinear process. A two-dimensional simulation of coating porosity and surface roughness of nickel-aluminum alloy (Ni-5%Al) in plasma spray forming was presented, which was based on the multi-dimensional statistical behaviors of the droplets as well as the simplification and digitization of the typical splat cross sections. Further analysis involving the influence of the droplet diameters and the scanning velocities of the spray gun on the two parameters was conducted. The simulation and analysis results indicate that the porosity and surface roughness are more influenced by the droplet diameters, but less influenced by the spray gun velocities. The results will provide basis for the prediction or control of coating mechanical properties by depositing parameters.

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) causes respiratory and systemic infections that are a major public health problem worldwide. It has been postulated that pneumococci persist in vivo in biofilm communities. In this study, we analyzed whether pneumococci form biofilms in vivo, and if so, whether biofilms correlated with bacterial persistence. Chinchillas were infected with S. pneumoniae TIGR4 and euthanized at varying times after infection, after which the superior ear bullae were excised and examined by culture and microscopy. Dense material, resembling the biofilms of other otitis media pathogens, was visible in the middle ear as late as 12 days after infection. Scanning electron microscopy revealed bacteria within an electron-dense matrix, similar to pneumococcal biofilms formed in vitro. Viability staining revealed groups of viable diplococci, as well as viable and nonviable host cells, attached to a fibrous matrix that was positive when stained with propidium iodide. Cryosections of biofilms were treated with polyclonal antibodies against the pneumococcal surface components pneumococcal surface protein A family 2, pneumococcal surface protein C, choline-binding protein, and neuraminidase, coupled with appropriate secondary antibody conjugates. Immunofluorescent staining showed the presence of pneumococcal communities within the material recovered from the middle ear chamber. On the basis of these data, we conclude that pneumococci form biofilms in vivo and that this process may be intertwined with the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps. These findings provide new insights into the potential causes of antibiotic treatment failure and bacterial persistence in chronic pneumococcal otitis media.

We investigate the action of local unitary operations on multimode (pure or mixed) Gaussian states and single out the minimal number of locally invariant parameters which completely characterize the covariance matrix of such states. For pure Gaussian states, central resources for continuous-variable quantum information, we investigate separately the parameter reduction due to the additional constraint of global purity, and the one following by the local-unitary freedom. Counting arguments and insights from the phase-space Schmidt decomposition and in general from the framework of symplectic analysis, accompany our description of the standard form of pure n-mode Gaussian states. In particular, we clarify why only in pure states with n {<=} 3 modes all the direct correlations between position and momentum operators can be set to zero by local unitary operations. For any n, the emerging minimal set of parameters contains complete information about all forms of entanglement in the corresponding states. An efficient state engineering scheme (able to encode direct correlations between position and momentum operators as well) is proposed to produce entangled multimode Gaussian resources, its number of optical elements matching the minimal number of locally invariant degrees of freedom of general pure n-mode Gaussian states. Finally, we demonstrate that so-called 'block-diagonal' Gaussian states, without direct correlations between position and momentum, are systematically less entangled, on average, than arbitrary pure Gaussian states.

Current measurement method for unknown free-formsurface has low efficiency. To acquire given precision, a lot of null points are measured. Based on change surface curvature, a new measurement planning is put forward. Sample step is evaluated from the change curvature and the locally-bounded character of extrapolating curve. Two coefficients, maximum error coefficient and local camber coefficient, are used to optimize sampling step. The first coefficient is computed to avoid sampling-point exceeding the measurement range and the second control sampling precision. Compared with the other methods, the proposed planning method can reduce the number of the measuring-point efficiently for the given precision. Measuring point distributes adaptively by the change surface curvature. The method can be applied to improve measurement efficiency and accuracy.

Nanoparticles formed within an ablation plume produced by the impact of a nanosecond laser pulse on the surface of an aluminum target have been directly measured using small-angle x-ray scattering. The target was immersed in an oxygen-nitrogen gas mixture at atmospheric pressure with the O2/N2 ratio being precisely controlled. The results for an increasing oxygen content reveal remarkable effects on the morphology of the generated particles, which include a decrease in the particle volume but a marked increase in its surface ruggedness. Molecular dynamics simulations using a reactive potential and performed under similar conditions as the experiment reproduce the experimental trends and show in detail how the shape and surface structure of the nanoparticles evolve with increasing oxygen content. This good agreement between in situ observations in the plume and atomistic simulations emphasizes the key role of chemical reactivity together with thermodynamic conditions on the morphology of the particles thus produced.

In this paler, we present a technique of forming nanofilms of poly-3-aminophenylboronic acid (pAPBA) on the surfaces of polystyrene (PS) microbeads for proteins (papain and trypsin) in aqueous. Papain was chosen as a model to study the feasibility of the technique and trypsin as an extension. Obtained core-shell microbeads were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and BET methods. The results show that pAPBA formed nanofilms (60-100 nm in thickness) on the surfaces of PS microbeads. The specific surface area of the papain-imprinted beads was about 180 m{sup 2} g{sup -1} and its pore size was 31 nm. These imprinted microbeads exhibit high recognition specificity and fast mass transfer kinetics. The specificity of these imprinted beads mainly originates from the spatial effect of imprinted sites. Because the protein-imprinted sites were located at, or close to, the surface, the imprinted beads have good site accessibility toward the template molecules. The facility of the imprinting protocol and the high recognition properties of imprinted microbeads make the approach an attractive solution to problems in the field of biotechnology.

It is a long-standing hypothesis that the bubbles which evolve as a result of decompression have their origin in stable gas micronuclei lodged in hydrophobic crevices, micelles of surface-active molecules, or tribonucleation. Recent findings supported by atomic force microscopy have indicated that tiny, flat nanobubbles form spontaneously on smooth, hydrophobic surfaces submerged in water. We propose that these nanobubbles may be the gas micronuclei responsible for the bubbles that evolve to cause decompression sickness. To support our hypothesis, we used hydrophilic and monolayer-covered hydrophobic smooth silicon wafers. The experiment was conducted in three main stages. Double distilled water was degassed at the low pressure of 5.60 kPa; hydrophobic and hydrophilic silicon wafers were placed in a bowl of degassed water and left overnight at normobaric pressure. The bowl was then placed in the hyperbaric chamber for 15 h at a pressure of 1013 kPa (=90 m sea water). After decompression, bubbles were observed and photographed. The results showed that bubbles only evolved on the hydrophobic surfaces following decompression. There are numerous hydrophobic surfaces within the living body (e.g., in the large blood vessels), which may thus be the sites where nanobubbles that serve as gas micronuclei for bubble evolution following decompression are formed.

Metal carbides are good candidates to contact carbon-based semiconductors (SiC, diamond, and carbon nanotubes). Here, we report on an in situ study of carbide formation during the solid-state reaction between thin films. The solid-state reaction was examined between 11 transition metals (W, Mo, Fe, Cr, V, Nb, Mn, Ti, Ta, Zr, and Hf) and an amorphous carbon layer. Capping layers (C or TiN) of different thicknesses were applied to prevent oxidation. Carbide formation is evidenced for nine metals and the phases formed have been identified (for a temperature ranging from 100to1100°C). W first forms W2C and then WC; Mo forms Mo2C; Fe forms Fe3C; Cr first forms metastable phases Cr2C and Cr3C2-x, and finally forms Cr3C2; V forms VCx; Nb transforms into Nb2C followed by NbC; Ti forms TiC; Ta first forms Ta2C and then TaC; and Hf transforms into HfC. The activation energy for the formation of the various carbide phases has been obtained by in situ x-ray diffraction.

Full Text Available Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs are manufactured worldwide for use in a wide range of applications. There are two common crystalline forms of TiO2 anatase and rutile with different physical and chemical characteristics. We previously demonstrated that an increased DNA damage response is mediated by anatase crystalline form compared to rutile. In the present study, we conjugated TiO2 NPs with polyethylene glycol (PEG in order to reduce the genotoxicity and we evaluated some oxidative stress parameters to obtain information on the cellular mechanisms of DNA damage that operate in response to TiO2 NPs different crystalline forms exposure in hepatocarcinoma cell lines (HepG2. Our results indicated a significant increase in oxidative stress mediated by the anatase form of TiO2 NPs compared to rutile form. On the other hand, PEG modified TiO2 NPs showed a significant decrease in oxidative stress as compared to TiO2 NPs. These data suggested that the genotoxic potential of TiO2 NPs varies with crystalline form and surface modification.

Full Text Available We investigated biofilm formation and time of vancomycin (VCM resistance expression after adhesion to a metal surface in Staphylococcus epidermidis. Biofilm-forming Staphylococcus epidermidis with a VCM MIC of 1 μg/mL was used. The bacteria were made to adhere to a stainless steel washer and treated with VCM at different times and concentrations. VCM was administered 0, 2, 4, and 8 hours after adhesion. The amount of biofilm formed was evaluated based on the biofilm coverage rates (BCRs before and after VCM administration, bacterial viability in biofilm was visually observed using the fluorescence staining method, and the viable bacterial count in biofilm was measured. The VCM concentration required to decrease BCR significantly compared with that of VCM-untreated bacteria was 4 μg/mL, even in the 0 hr group. In the 4 and 8 hr groups, VCM could not inhibit biofilm growth even at 1,024 μg/mL. In the 8 hr group, viable bacteria remained in biofilm at a count of 104 CFU even at a high VCM concentration (1,024 μg/mL. It was suggested that biofilm-forming Staphylococcus epidermidis expresses resistance to VCM early after adhesion to a metal surface. Resistance increased over time after adhesion as the biofilm formed, and strong resistance was expressed 4–8 hours after adhesion.

Three-mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (3Y-TZP) is a fine engineering ceramic that offers high fracture resistance and flexural strength. Thus, it is often applied in mechanical components and medical implants. The surface roughness can be controlled to improve the device characters in some applications. Ultrashort pulse lasers can form laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on 3Y-TZP, which have never been investigated in detail. Therefore, this paper reports the formation and characteristics of LIPSS formed on 3Y-TZP, focusing on the pulsewidth dependence. The LIPSS was formed by a Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse amplification system, which generates 810 nmcentered 80-fs pulses at a 570 Hz repetition rate. The measured ablation threshold peak fluence was ~1.5 J/cm2 and the LIPSS was formed at the peak fluence of 2.7-7.7 J/cm2. For linearly polarized pulses, the lines of the LIPSS were oriented parallel to the polarization direction, and their period was comparable to or larger than the center wavelength of the laser. These characteristics differ from the reported characteristics of LIPSS on metals and dielectrics. The pulsewidth dependence of the ablation and LIPSS was investigated for different pulsewidths and signs of chirp. Under the investigated fluence condition, the LIPSS period increased with increasing pulsewidth for both signs of chirp. Similar pulsewidth dependencies were observed for circularly polarized pulses.

Thermoelectric effects in tunnel junctions are currently being revisited for their prospects in cooling and energy harvesting applications, and as sensitive probes of electron transport. Quantitative interpretation of these effects calls for advances in both theory and experiment, particularly with respect to the electron transmission probability across a tunnel barrier which encodes the energy dependence and the magnitude of tunneling thermopower. Using noble metal surfaces as clean model systems, we demonstrate a comparatively simple and quantitative approach where the transmission probability is directly measured experimentally. Importantly, we estimate not only thermovoltage, but also its energy and temperature dependencies. We have thus resolved surface-state enhancement of thermovoltage, which manifests as 10-fold enhancement of thermopower on terraces of the Ag(111) surface compared to single-atom step sites and surface-supported nanoparticles. To corroborate experimental analysis, the methodology was applied to the transmission probability obtained from first-principles calculations for the (111) surfaces of the three noble metals, finding good agreement between overall trends. Surface-state effects themselves point to a possibility of achieving competitive performance of all-metal tunnel junctions when compared to molecular junctions. At the same time, the approach presented here opens up possibilities to investigate the properties of nominally doped or gated thermoelectric tunnel junctions as well as temperature gradient in nanometer gaps.

Goniometric techniques traditionally quantify two parameters, the advancing and receding contact angles, that are useful for characterizing the wetting properties of a solid surface; however, dynamic tensiometry, which measures changes in the net force on a surface during the repeated immersion and emersion of a solid into a probe liquid, can provide further insight into the wetting properties of a surface. We detail a framework for analyzing tensiometric results that allows for the determination of wetting hysteresis, wetting state transitions, and characteristic topographical length scales on textured, nonwetting surfaces, in addition to the more traditional measurement of apparent advancing and receding contact angles. Fluorodecyl POSS, a low-surface-energy material, was blended with commercially available poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and then dip- or spray-coated onto glass substrates. These surfaces were probed with a variety of liquids to illustrate the effects of probe liquid surface tension, solid surface chemistry, and surface texture on the apparent contact angles and wetting hysteresis of nonwetting surfaces. Woven meshes were then used as model structured substrates to add a second, larger length scale for the surface texture. When immersed into a probe liquid, these spray-coated mesh surfaces can form a metastable, solid-liquid-air interface on the largest length scale of surface texture. The increasing hydrostatic pressure associated with progressively greater immersion depths disrupts this metastable, composite interface and forces penetration of the probe liquid into the mesh structure. This transition is marked by a sudden change in the wetting hysteresis, which can be systematically probed using spray-coated, woven meshes of varying wire radius and spacing. We also show that dynamic tensiometry can accurately and quantitatively characterize topographical length scales that are present on microtextured surfaces.

Staphylococcus aureus surface protein SasG promotes cell-cell adhesion during the accumulation phase of biofilm formation, but the molecular basis of this interaction remains poorly understood. Here, we unravel the mechanical properties of SasG on the surface of living bacteria, that is, in its native cellular environment. Nanoscale multiparametric imaging of living bacteria reveals that Zn(2+) strongly increases cell wall rigidity and activates the adhesive function of SasG. Single-cell force measurements show that SasG mediates cell-cell adhesion via specific Zn(2+)-dependent homophilic bonds between β-sheet-rich G5-E domains on neighboring cells. The force required to unfold individual domains is remarkably strong, up to ∼500 pN, thus explaining how SasG can withstand physiological shear forces. We also observe that SasG forms homophilic bonds with the structurally related accumulation-associated protein of Staphylococcus epidermidis, suggesting the possibility of multispecies biofilms during host colonization and infection. Collectively, our findings support a model in which zinc plays a dual role in activating cell-cell adhesion: adsorption of zinc ions to the bacterial cell surface increases cell wall cohesion and favors the projection of elongated SasG proteins away from the cell surface, thereby enabling zinc-dependent homophilic bonds between opposing cells. This work demonstrates an unexpected relationship between mechanics and adhesion in a staphylococcal surface protein, which may represent a general mechanism among bacterial pathogens for activating cell association.

There is special interest in the incorporation of metallic nanoparticles in a surrounding dielectric matrix for obtaining composites with desirable characteristics such as for surface plasmon resonance, which can be used in photonics and sensing, and controlled surface electrical conductivity. We have investigated nanocomposites produced by metal ion implantation into insulating substrates, where the implanted metal self-assembles into nanoparticles. The nanoparticles nucleate near the maximum of the implantation depth profile (projected range), which can be estimated by computer simulation using the TRIDYN code. TRIDYN is a Monte Carlo simulation program based on the TRIM (Transport and Range of Ions in Matter) code that takes into account compositional changes in the substrate due to two factors: previously implanted dopant atoms, and sputtering of the substrate surface. Our study show that the nanoparticles form a bidimentional array buried a few nanometers below the substrate surface. We have studied Au/PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate), Pt/PMMA, Ti/alumina and Au/alumina systems. Transmission electron microscopy of the implanted samples show that metallic nanoparticles form in the insulating matrix. These nanocomposites have been characterized by measuring the resistivity of the composite layer as a function of the implantation dose. The experimental results are compared with a model based on percolation theory, in which electron transport through the composite is explained by conduction through a random resistor network formed by the metallic nanoparticles. Excellent agreement is found between the experimental results and the predictions of the theory. We conclude in that the conductivity process is due only to percolation (when the conducting elements are in geometric contact) and that the contribution from tunneling conduction is negligible.

The hallmark of topological phases is their robust boundary signature whose intriguing properties—such as the one-way transport on the chiral edge of a Chern insulator and the sudden disappearance of surfacestatesforming open Fermi arcs on the surfaces of Weyl semimetals—are impossible to realize on the surface alone. Yet, despite the glaring simplicity of noninteracting topological bulk Hamiltonians and their concomitant energy spectrum, the detailed study of the corresponding surfacestates has essentially been restricted to numerical simulation. In this work, however, we show that exact analytical solutions of both topological and trivial surfacestates can be obtained for generic tight-binding models on a large class of geometrically frustrated lattices in any dimension without the need for fine-tuning of hopping amplitudes. Our solutions derive from local constraints tantamount to destructive interference between neighboring layer lattices perpendicular to the surface and provide microscopic insights into the structure of the surfacestates that enable analytical calculation of many desired properties including correlation functions, surface dispersion, Berry curvature, and the system size dependent gap closing, which necessarily occurs when the spatial localization switches surface. This further provides a deepened understanding of the bulk-boundary correspondence. We illustrate our general findings on a large number of examples in two and three spatial dimensions. Notably, we derive exact chiral Chern insulator edge states on the spin-orbit-coupled kagome lattice, and Fermi arcs relevant for recently synthesized slabs of pyrochlore-based Eu2Ir2O7 and Nd2Ir2O7 , which realize an all-in-all-out spin configuration, as well as for spin-ice-like two-in-two-out and one-in-three-out configurations, which are both relevant for Pr2Ir2O7 . Remarkably, each of the pyrochlore examples exhibit clearly resolved Fermi arcs although only the one

Full Text Available Model pyrolysis made possible to identify three solid products of carbonaceous additives. Lustrous carbon is the most important form of the pyrolysis carbon. With its structure and physical and chemical properties it comes near to graphite. Amorphous carbon with turbo-stratic lattice, higher oxireactivity, and lower protective function against liquid metal comes near to carbon black. Semicoke also plays a non-negligible role. All forms of carbon have an important representation in oolitized quartz grain also during forming the casting surface. While amorphous carbon is formed directly from the gaseous phase by homogeneous nucleation, lustrous carbon, with regard to similarity of lattices with quartz, is formed by heterogeneous nucleation on grains. High covering power and low oxireactivity give its highest protecting power of the mould face. New experimental equipment made possible to check a possibility of use of new composite bentonite binders containing „process carbon“(graphite, anthracite, amorphous carbon. The BTEX content in exhalations and in waste sands too was considerably decreased with high smoothness of castings.

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the in vitro biofilm forming capacity on abiotic food contact surfaces by Vibrio harveyi (V. harveyi strains. Methods: Thirty six Gram-negative V. harveyi strains were isolated from various street vended seafood outlets in a food processing line and evaluated for their ability to produce mucoid biofilms on food contact surfaces using a microplate assay. Phenotypic characterization of mucoid biofilm producing V. harveyi strains were screened on Congo red agar, thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose agar and tryptic soy agar, respectively. Results: Only five V. harveyi strains (14% were mucoid biofilm producers characterized by formation of black colonies, whereas the remaining 31 strains (86% were not capable of producing biofilm characterized by formation of red colonies or pinkish-red colonies with darkening at the centre. The morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of these isolates were studied using standard protocols. Strain identification was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction targeted to species-specific polymerase chain reaction primers VH-1 and VH-2 corresponding to variable regions of V. harveyi 16S rRNA sequence. All the biofilm-forming strains showed resistance to at least three antimicrobial compounds tested. V. harveyi strains isolated from various seafood were able to form biofilms of different capacity, and the strains VB267, VB238 and VB166 isolated from cat fish, shrimp and eel fish exhibited significantly greater biofilm forming ability compared to other isolates. Conclusions: It can be concluded from the present study that the strain VB166 was able to better attach and form subsequent biofilms on glass and stainless steel compared to high density polyethylene. These properties allow these bacteria to survive, proliferate and persist in street vended seafood outlets.

Objective:To evaluate the in vitro biofilm forming capacity on abiotic food contact surfaces by Vibrio harveyi (V. harveyi) strains. Methods:Thirty six Gram-negative V. harveyi strains were isolated from various street vended seafood outlets in a food processing line and evaluated for their ability to produce mucoid biofilms on food contact surfaces using a microplate assay. Phenotypic characterization of mucoid biofilm producing V. harveyi strains were screened on Congo red agar, thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose agar and tryptic soy agar, respectively. Results: Only five V. harveyi strains (14%) were mucoid biofilm producers characterized by formation of black colonies, whereas the remaining 31 strains (86%) were not capable of producing biofilm characterized by formation of red colonies or pinkish-red colonies with darkening at the centre. The morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of these isolates were studied using standard protocols. Strain identification was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction targeted to species-specific polymerase chain reaction primers VH-1 and VH-2 corresponding to variable regions of V. harveyi 16S rRNA sequence. All the biofilm-forming strains showed resistance to at least three antimicrobial compounds tested. V. harveyi strains isolated from various seafood were able to form biofilms of different capacity, and the strains VB267, VB238 and VB166 isolated from cat fish, shrimp and eel fish exhibited significantly greater biofilm forming ability compared to other isolates. Conclusions: It can be concluded from the present study that the strain VB166 was able to better attach and form subsequent biofilms on glass and stainless steel compared to high density polyethylene. These properties allow these bacteria to survive, proliferate and persist in street vended seafood outlets.

The last decade, nanopores have emerged as a new and interesting tool for the study of biological macromolecules like proteins and DNA. While biological pores, especially alpha-hemolysin, have been promising for the detection of DNA, their poor chemical stability limits their use. For this reason, researchers are trying to mimic their behaviour using more stable, solid-state nanopores. The most successful tools to fabricate such nanopores use high energy electron or ions beams to drill or reshape holes in very thin membranes. While the resolution of these methods can be very good, they require tools that are not commonly available and tend to damage and charge the nanopore surface. In this work, we show nanopores that have been fabricated using standard micromachning techniques together with EBID, and present a simple model that is used to estimate the surface charge. The results show that EBID with a silicon oxide precursor can be used to tune the nanopore surface and that the surface charge is stable over a...

The potential energy function of nitrogen dioxide with the C2v symmetry in the ground state is represented using the simplified Sorbie-Murrell many-body expansion function in terms of the symmetry of NO2. Using the potential energy function, some potential energy surfaces of NO2(C2v, X2A1), such as the bond stretching contour plot for a fixed equilibrium geometry angle θ and contour for O moving around N-O (R1), in which R1 is fixed at the equilibrium bond length, are depicted. The potential energy surfaces are analysed. Moreover, the equilibrium parameters for NO2 with the C2v, Cs and D8h symmetries, such as equilibrium geometry structures and energies, are calculated by the ab initio (CBS-Q) method.

We study a conjectured correspondence between any codimension two convex surface and a quantum state (SS-duality for short). By generalizing thermofield double formalism to continuum version of the multi-scale entanglement renormalization ansatz (cMERA) and using the SS-duality, we propose a general framework to emerge the thermal geometry from CFT at finite temperature. As an example, the case of $2d$ CFT is considered carefully. We calculate its information metric and show that it is the BTZ black hole or the thermal AdS as expectation.

We study a conjectured correspondence between any codimension-two convex surface and a quantum state (SS-duality for short). By applying thermofield double formalism to the SS-duality, we show that thermal geometries naturally emerge as a result of hidden quantum entanglement between two boundary CFTs. We therefore propose a general framework to emerge the thermal geometry from CFT at finite temperature, without knowing many details about the thermal CFT. As an example, the case of 2d CFT is considered. We calculate its information metric and show that it is either BTZ black hole or thermal AdS as expected.

A universal route to GQDs is developed based on ``solution phase-based scissor'' methods. The PL centers of the GQDs are systematically studied and are proved to be the surfacestate. This is related to the hybridization structure of the edge groups and the connected partial graphene core. Through experiment and analysis, we have preliminarily proved that the efficient edge groups for green emission are mainly carboxyl, carbonyl and amide. This is indicated by the following three factors: firstly, the PL of GQDs is enhanced by UV exposure, during which partial -OH groups are converted into carboxyl groups; secondly, the PL properties of GQDs can be further improved by one-step solvothermal treatment, in which partial carboxyl groups are converted to amide groups and the surfacestate of the GQDs is enhanced; thirdly, reduced m-GQDs possess more -OH groups compared with reduced GQDs, resulting in more blue PL centers (the carboxyl, carbonyl and amide-based green centers are converted to -OH-based blue centers). The present work highlights a very important direction for the understanding of the PL mechanism of GQDs and other related carbon-based materials.A universal route to GQDs is developed based on ``solution phase-based scissor'' methods. The PL centers of the GQDs are systematically studied and are proved to be the surfacestate. This is related to the hybridization structure of the edge groups and the connected partial graphene core. Through experiment and analysis, we have preliminarily proved that the efficient edge groups for green emission are mainly carboxyl, carbonyl and amide. This is indicated by the following three factors: firstly, the PL of GQDs is enhanced by UV exposure, during which partial -OH groups are converted into carboxyl groups; secondly, the PL properties of GQDs can be further improved by one-step solvothermal treatment, in which partial carboxyl groups are converted to amide groups and the surfacestate of the GQDs is enhanced; thirdly

Excitonic transitions on the surface of a sphere have been studied in he presence of external static electric and laser fields. The spectrum and the various coupling matrix elements, (for n = 1 , 2 , 3), between few states of exciton have been evaluated in the absence and presence of excitonic Coulombic interaction with different values of dielectric constant. Variation of various physical quantities: energy eigenvalues, transition probability, orientational and alignment parameter, has been shown to have strong dependence on the laser field and static electric field.

The free-form optical quasilens surface technology was utilized to develop and design a solid transparent plastic optical lens for the LED down light with the narrow angular light distribution requirement in the LED lighting applications. In order to successfully complete the mission, the precise mid-field angular distribution model of the LED light source was established and built. And also the optical scattering surface property of the Harvey BSDF scattering model was designed, measured, and established. Then, the optical simulation for the entire optical system was performed to develop and design this solid transparent plastic optical lens system. Finally, the goals of 40 deg angular light distribution pattern defined at full width half maximum with glare reduced in the areas of interest and the optical performance of nearly 82% light energy transmission optics were achieved for the LED down light illumination.

An experimental study on gas absorption into falling liquid film formed on inner surface of vertical tubes has been carried out in order to clarify fundamental characteristics of the gas absorption and enhancement by surface waves. The water supplied into the test tubes is periodically disturbed by fluctuating a silicon tube before the test section with a speaker and the wavy films absorb the oxygen filled in the tubes. Imposing the periodic disturbance enhances the gas absorption and the enhancement has a maximum at around 20～30 Hz, where the gas absorption is 20～30% higher. Mass transfer coefficients obtained with five tubes agree well with those obtained with single tube. Two-dimensional numerical simulations have also been conducted for gas absorption by wavy film and the enhancement mechanism of the gas absorption is discussed.

Full Text Available It is reasonable to expect that, when two nominally flat rough surfaces are brought into contact by an applied resultant force, they must support, in addition to the compressive load, an induced moment. The existence of a net applied moment would imply noneven distribution of contact force so that there are more asperities in contact over one region of the nominal area. In this paper, we consider the contact between two rectangular rough surfaces that provide normal and tangential contact force as well as contact moment to counteract the net moment imposed by the applied forces. The surfaces are permitted to develop slight angular misalignment, and thereby contact moment is derived. Through this scheme, it is possible to also define elastic contribution to friction since the half-plane tangential contact force on one side of an asperity is no longer balanced by the half-plane tangential force component on the opposite side. The elastic friction force, however, is shown to be of a much smaller order than the contact normal force. Approximate closed-form equations are found for contact force and moment for the contact of rough surfaces.

Full Text Available Assembled structures of dyes have great influence on their coloring function. For example, metal ions added in the dyeing process are known to prevent fading of color. Thus, we have investigated the influence of an addition of copper(II ion on the surface structure of alkyl-derivatized indigo. Scanning tunneling microscope (STM analysis revealed that the copper(II complexes of indigo formed orderly lamellar structures on a HOPG substrate. These lamellar structures of the complexes are found to be more stable than those of alkyl-derivatized indigos alone. Furthermore, 2D chirality was observed.

Full Text Available In order to improve the flattening quality of sheet metal with free-formsurface, a flattening system was developed. The system framework was proposed and the key technologies such as mesh quality measuring criterion, center triangle indexing algorithm, coordinate transforming principle, and initial flattening method were elaborated. Moreover, a planar spring–mass model was presented to optimize the initial flattening result, and the flowchart of the proposed flattening method was designed. Finally, three simulation examples were carried out and the comparison results indicated that the proposed system was proved feasible and efficient.

The relationship between the Gas to Melt Ratio (GMR) and the surface temperature of an evolving billet surface in spray forming is investigated numerically. The basis for the analysis is an integrated approach for modelling the entire spray forming process. This model includes the droplet atomisa...

Compact and lightweight optical designs achieving acceptable image quality, field of view, eye clearance, eyebox size, operating across the visible spectrum, are the key to the success of next generation head-worn displays. The first part of this thesis reports on the design, fabrication, and analysis of off-axis magnifier designs. The first design is catadioptric and consists of two elements. The lens utilizes a diffractive optical element and the mirror has a free-formsurface described with an x-y polynomial. A comparison of color correction between doublets and single layer diffractive optical elements in an eyepiece as a function of eye clearance is provided to justify the use of a diffractive optical element. The dual-element design has an 8 mm diameter eyebox, 15 mm eye clearance, 20 degree diagonal full field, and is designed to operate across the visible spectrum between 450-650 nm. 20% MTF at the Nyquist frequency with less than 3% distortion has been achieved in the dual-element head-worn display. An ideal solution for a head-worn display would be a single free-formsurface mirror design. A single surface mirror does not have dispersion; therefore, color correction is not required. A single surface mirror can be made see-through by machining the appropriate surface shape on the opposite side to form a zero power shell. The second design consists of a single off-axis free-form mirror described with an x-y polynomial, which achieves a 3 mm diameter exit pupil, 15 mm eye relief, and a 24 degree diagonal full field of view. The second design achieves 10% MTF at the Nyquist frequency set by the pixel spacing of the VGA microdisplay with less than 3% distortion. Both designs have been fabricated using diamond turning techniques. Finally, this thesis addresses the question of "what is the optimal surface shape for a single mirror constrained in an off-axis magnifier configuration with multiple fields?" Typical optical surfaces implemented in raytrace codes

We present recent results for the nucleon electromagnetic form factors using lattice QCD. This includes the determination of the charge radii. The standard approach is to extract the form factors via a plateau fit to the lattice data using a 'large-enough' time separation between the operators at the source and sink. To check that this removes excited state contaminations to an acceptable level, we employ two further extraction methods: a fit that explicitly accounts for the contamination; and the use of a summed operator insertion, which suppresses the contamination. A comparison of the methods allows for the study of systematic effects related to excited state contributions entering in the q{sup 2} dependence of the form factors. We employ the CLS ensembles using non-perturbatively O(a) improved Wilson fermions in N{sub f}=2 QCD.

Full Text Available One of the most common complications associated with the treatment of calcaneus fracturesis, a necrosis of the edges of the surgical wound and as a result – chronic nonhealing ulcers of the heel region and osteomyelitis of the calcaneus. In the structure of skeletal lesions osteomyelitic chronic osteomyelitis of the calcaneus occurs in 3.1–14.8% of cases, and in relation to the bones of the foot – up to 51%. At the same time after open fractures of the total incidence of deep infection from soft tissue even higher than that for the surface (12.2% vs. 9.6%. The traditional approach to the treatment of osteomyelitis of the calcaneus is often accompanied by poor performance with recurrent osteomyelitis process and highsubsequent disability of working age.Objective: to identify opportunities and assess the effectiveness of the use of reconstructive microsurgery techniques in the treatment of patients with superficial forms of osteomyelitis of the calcaneus, accompanied by the presence of soft tissue defect.Materials and мethods.The results of treatment of 28 patients with superficial forms of osteomyelitis of the calcaneus, which in the period from 2006 to 2013 in RNIITO them. R.R.Vredena were performed reconstructive plastic surgery using microsurgical techniques. Defects covering tissues were located on the sole (20 and back-side surfaces (8 of the calcaneus. Scope of interventions included the radical surgical treatment of osteomyelitis focus, marginal resection of the affected heel bone and tissue replacement of defect cover flap with axial blood supply.Results. With the localization of the defect cover tissues to non-reference surface of the heel region was carried out free plastic ray skin-fascial flap (9 cases. When the location of the defect on the plantar surface of the heel region favored medial plantar flap (10 cases. However, the presence of scarring and damage to the medial plantar artery was performed

This study examines the early stages of surface oxidation of liquid Mg-3 wt%Nd under UPH argon, dry air, and air mixed with protective fluorine-bearing gases. Each of the gases were introduced as bubbles into solidifying castings. The chemistry and structure of the protective film inside the trapped bubbles were characterized by SEM and EDX analyses. Results show that due to Nd added to Mg alloy under dry air, a dense and wrinkled surface film that contains MgO and Nd2O3 are formed. Under fluorine-bearing gas mixtures, a dense and coherent surface film was found to be a mixed fluoride and oxide. For SF6, the film thickness was 50-100 nm thick while for HFC-R134a it was 35-45 nm. Needle shaped phases distributed in the Mg matrix and flake-like phases segregated on the inner bubble surface in proximity to the interdendritic regions of the alloy were both identified as Nd rich compounds. These were present under all gas conditions. The results obtained lead to a conclusion that HFC-R134a is capable of providing the most effective melt protection. The integrity and protective capability of the early surface film formation on the liquid Mg-Nd alloy was found to be significantly improved compared to pure Mg under identical gas conditions due to formation of a dense and compact MgO/Nd2O3 layer, regardless of whether fluorine species were also present.

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of surface film-forming material(SFFM),a mixture of 16-18-octadecanols by emulsification,on water evaporation,Air-dired soil with distilled water was incubated firstly for 7days to reestablish soil biological activity and then for another 7 days atfer treated with SFFM at rates of 0,1,2,4,6,8 and 8 g m-2，respectively,Everyday during the 7-day incubation after addition of SFFM,water losses due to evaporation were measured by an electronic balance.The rate of water evaporation with the addition of SFFM was reduced significantly compared with the control treatment and the effectiveness of SFFM on water evaporation reduced with time.According to the equation expressions of the effect of SFFM on water evaporation ,the half-life of effectiveness of SFFM on water evaporation was introduced and calculated to analyze quantitative relationship between the effectiveness of SFFM on water evaporation and the addition rate of SFFM.The calculaed half-life increased with the addition rate of SFFM and the confidence of the calculated values of the half-life was high,suggesting that the half-life of effectiveness of SFFM on water evaporation could be described quantitaively and may be helpful for ameliorating application method of SFFM and screening surface-film forming materials in order to improve nitrogen fetilizer use efficiency in floodey rice fields.

Full Text Available The paper investigates a stress-strain state in a polycrystalline grain due to presence in its body of a single micro- twin in case of various grain boundary forms. A methodology for calculation of displacement and stress fields for the specified stress-strain state of a polygon-shaped grain has been developed in the paper. Nodal points in a polycrystalline grain that have a maximum stresses contributing to initiation of destruction have been revealed in the paper. The aim of this work has been to study the stress-strain state due to a single micro-twin in the polycrystalline grain and form of grain boundaries. The paper describes polycrystalline grains having a regular polygon shape and containing a single wedge twin in their body. Polycrystalline grain boundaries are presented as walls with complete dislocation. The investigated grains are located far from the surface of twinning material. The developed methodology for calculation of displacement and stresses created by wedge twin is based on the principle of superposition. Calculations on stress tensor components have been carried out for iron (Fe. The presented results of calculations for stress fields have indicated to validity of the used dislocation model. Twin and grain boundaries being stress concentrators are clearly visible on the obtained distributions of stress fields. Maximum normal stresses are observed on the twin boundaries; σxy maximum shear stresses are located at nodal points of the twin; σzy and σxz shear stresses are maximum on the grain boundaries. The conducted investigations have resulted in study of the stress-strain state due to a single wedge-shaped micro-twin in the polycrystalline grain and form of the grain boundaries. Zones of stress concentration in the polycrystalline grain have been identified in the presence of residual mechanical wedge twin. A method for evaluation of the given state has been developed in the paper.

Cui, Jie, E-mail: j.cui@unsw.edu.au [School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052 (Australia); Grant, Nicholas [Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T. 0200 (Australia); Lennon, Alison [School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052 (Australia)

2014-12-30

Highlights: • The surface passivation by anodic SiO{sub 2} formed by light-induced anodisation is investigated. • The anodic SiO{sub 2} grows lower temperatures with shorter growth times. After annealing in oxygen and then forming gas the effective minority carrier lifetime is increased to 150 μs. • It shows a very low positive Q{sub eff} of 3.4 × 10{sup 11} cm{sup −2}, a moderate D{sub it} of 6 × 10{sup 11} eV{sup −1} cm{sup −2}. • It has a very low leakage current density suggesting its application in solar cell as a functional dielectric. - Abstract: Electronic surface passivation of p-type crystalline silicon by anodic silicon dioxide (SiO{sub 2}) was investigated. The anodic SiO{sub 2} was grown by light-induced anodisation (LIA) in diluted sulphuric acid at room temperature, a process that is significantly less-expensive than thermal oxidation which is widely-used in silicon solar cell fabrication. After annealing in oxygen and then forming gas at 400 °C for 30 min, the effective minority carrier lifetime of 3–5 Ω cm, boron-doped Czochralski silicon wafers with a phosphorus-doped 80 Ω/□ emitter and a LIA anodic SiO{sub 2} formed on the p-type surface was increased by two orders of magnitude to 150 μs. Capacitance–voltage measurements demonstrated a very low positive charge density of 3.4 × 10{sup 11} cm{sup −2} and a moderate density of interface states of 6 × 10{sup 11} eV{sup −1} cm{sup −2}. This corresponded to a silicon surface recombination velocity of 62 cm s{sup −1}, which is comparable with values reported for other anodic SiO{sub 2} films, which required higher temperatures and longer growth times, and significantly lower than oxides grown by chemical vapour deposition techniques. Additionally, a very low leakage current density of 3.5 × 10{sup −10} and 1.6 × 10{sup −9} A cm{sup −2} at 1 and −1 V, respectively, was measured for LIA SiO{sub 2} suggesting its potential application as insulation layer in

Full Text Available The necessity to specificate the formation process of stress-strain state of buildings in the construction process is a new problem which requires including real production characteristics going beyond calculation models into calculation methods. Today the construction process lacks this specification. When mounting vibroisolators the stress-strein of a structure state is changing. The mounting method of vibroisolators is patented and consists in multistage successive compression loading of each vibroisolator with the constant speed and following fixation of this displacement. The specified engineering method of rubber-steel pads calculation in view of change of their form during deformation, nonlinearity, rheological processes is offered. Resilient pads look like rubber plates rectangular in plane reinforced on the basic surfaces with metal sheets. The influence of a time-variable static load and free vibrations of loaded pads are considered.

Radiation magnetohydrodynamic modeling is used to study the plasma formed on the surface of a cylindrical metallic load, driven by megagauss magnetic field at the 1MA Zebra generator (University of Nevada, Reno). An ionized aluminum plasma is used to represent the "core-corona" behavior in which a heterogeneous Z-pinch consists of a hot low-density corona surrounding a dense low-temperature core. The radiation dynamics model included simultaneously a self-consistent treatment of both the opaque and transparent plasma regions in a corona. For the parameters of this experiment, the boundary of the opaque plasma region emits the major radiation power with Planckian black-body spectrum in the extreme ultraviolet corresponding to an equilibrium temperature of 16 eV. The radiation heat transport significantly exceeds the electron and ion kinetic heat transport in the outer layers of the opaque plasma. Electromagnetic field energy is partly radiated (13%) and partly deposited into inner corona and core regions (87%). Surface temperature estimates are sensitive to the radiation effects, but the surface motion in response to pressure and magnetic forces is not. The general results of the present investigation are applicable to the liner compression experiments at multi-MA long-pulse current accelerators such as Atlas and Shiva Star. Also the radiation magnetohydrodynamic model discussed in the paper may be useful for understanding key effects of wire array implosion dynamics.

Hyperion, Atlas and Telesto present three radically different faces: Hyperion has a sponge-like topography at the 2-10 km scale; Telesto is buried in debris, and Atlas has a smooth equatorial ridge contrasting with rugged polar regions. Are these the result of materials (nature) or environment (nurture), and what implications do these greatly differing forms have for other satellites and other icy objects in the outer solar system? Porosity may play a crucial role in Hyperion's sponge-like appearance, this satellite differing from other porous ones in its size and lack of processes competing with cratering. Recent Cassini images (Porco et al. 2007) show Atlas's flying-saucer shape to reflect two distinct regions: rough polar and smooth equatorial. These may be a reflection of ring-related particle accretion (Charnoz et . al. 2007). Telesto, partly buried in (its own?) debris, appears a stochastic result of its environment: perhaps similar to Deimos’ self-covering. Irregular objects do not yield easily to correlation of surface appearance and shape parameters such as axial ratios or gravitational relief relative to object size. Only the presence of a wide range of surface acceleration seems to qualitatively affect surface processes. We discuss the implications for other small satellites of outer planets and for small KBOs. Porco, C. et al. (2007) , submitted to Science. Charnoz, S. et al. (2007) Submitted to Science.

In this work, the surface films formed on an X52 pipeline steel in H2S-containing environments with various pH values and H2S concentrations were characterized by surface analysis techniques and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A stoichiometric FeS film is formed during H2S corrosion of the steel. At low pH (e.g., 3.5) and low H2S concentration (e.g., 0.2 mmol/L), the film is primarily crystalline FeS. When the H2S concentration increases to 2 and 20 mmol/L, mackinawite is also formed. At high pH of 5.5 and low H2S concentration of 0.2 mmol/L, the film is amorphous FeS. With the increase in the H2S concentration to 2 and 20 mmol/L, the film changes to crystalline FeS and the mixture of crystalline FeS and mackinawite, respectively. In low-pH solution (pH 3.5), the compact, crystalline FeS is more protective for steel corrosion compared to mackinawite. As the H2S concentration increases, the corrosion is increased. At high pH of 5.5, when the H2S concentration is 0.2 mmol/L, the low corrosivity of the environment causes production of amorphous FeS only. As the H2S concentration is increased, a thick film is generated, reducing somewhat the steel corrosion.

In this work, the surface films formed on an X52 pipeline steel in H2S-containing environments with various pH values and H2S concentrations were characterized by surface analysis techniques and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A stoichiometric FeS film is formed during H2S corrosion of the steel. At low pH (e.g., 3.5) and low H2S concentration (e.g., 0.2 mmol/L), the film is primarily crystalline FeS. When the H2S concentration increases to 2 and 20 mmol/L, mackinawite is also formed. At high pH of 5.5 and low H2S concentration of 0.2 mmol/L, the film is amorphous FeS. With the increase in the H2S concentration to 2 and 20 mmol/L, the film changes to crystalline FeS and the mixture of crystalline FeS and mackinawite, respectively. In low-pH solution (pH 3.5), the compact, crystalline FeS is more protective for steel corrosion compared to mackinawite. As the H2S concentration increases, the corrosion is increased. At high pH of 5.5, when the H2S concentration is 0.2 mmol/L, the low corrosivity of the environment causes production of amorphous FeS only. As the H2S concentration is increased, a thick film is generated, reducing somewhat the steel corrosion.

The complexation of U(vi) at the proteinaceous surface layer (S-layer) of the archaeal strain Sulfolobus acidocaldarius was investigated over a pH range from pH 1.5 to 6 at the molecular scale using time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS) and U L(III)-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). The S-layer, which represents the interface between the cell and its environment, is very stable against high temperatures, proteases, and detergents. This allowed the isolation and purification of S-layer ghosts (= empty cells) that maintain the size and shape of the cells. In contrast to many other microbial cell envelope compounds the studied S-layer is not phosphorylated, enabling the investigation of uranyl carboxylate complexes formed at microbial surfaces. The latter are usually masked by preferentially formed uranyl phosphate complexes. We demonstrated that at highly acidic conditions (pH 1.5 to 3) no uranium was bound by the S-layer. In contrast to that, at moderate acidic pH conditions (pH 4.5 and 6) a complexation of U(vi) at the S-layer via deprotonated carboxylic groups was stimulated. Titration studies revealed dissociation constants for the carboxylic groups of glutamic and aspartic acid residues of pK(a) = 4.78 and 6.31. The uranyl carboxylate complexes formed at the S-layer did not show luminescence properties at room temperature, but only under cryogenic conditions. The obtained luminescence maxima are similar to those of uranyl acetate. EXAFS spectroscopy demonstrated that U(vi) in these complexes is mainly coordinated to carboxylate groups in a bidentate binding mode. The elucidation of the molecular structure of these complexes was facilitated by the absence of phosphate groups in the studied S-layer protein.

The formation of near-wavelength laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on silicon upon irradiation with sequences of Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser pulse pairs (pulse duration 150 fs, central wavelength 800 nm) is studied theoretically. For this purpose, the nonlinear generation of conduction band electrons in silicon and their relaxation is numerically calculated using a two-temperature model approach including intrapulse changes of optical properties, transport, diffusion and recombination effects. Following the idea that surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) can be excited when the material turns from semiconducting to metallic state, the "SPP active area" is calculated as function of fluence and double-pulse delay up to several picoseconds and compared to the experimentally observed rippled surface areas. Evidence is presented that multi-photon absorption explains the large increase of the rippled area for temporally overlapping pulses. For longer double-pulse delays, relevant relaxation processes are identified. The results demonstrate that femtosecond LIPSS on silicon are caused by the excitation of SPP and can be controlled by temporal pulse shaping.

The paper describes an analysis of possible ways of deactivation of electronically excited states of 4-hydroxy- 3-methoxy-benzoic acid (vanillic acid) and its protolytic forms with the use of quantum-chemical methods INDO/S (intermediate neglect of differential overlap with a spectroscopic parameterization) and MEP (molecular electrostatic potential). The ratio of radiative and non-radiative deactivation channels of the electronic excitation energy is established. The rate constants of photophysical processes (internal and intercombination conversions) occurring after the absorption of light in these forms are evaluated.

We perform dispersion-corrected first-principles calculations, and far-infrared (terahertz) spectroscopic experiments at 4 K, to examine translational vibrations between chains of hydrogen-bonded molecules in solid-state aspirin form I. The calculated frequencies and relative intensities reproduce the observed spectrum to accuracy of 11 cm-1 or less. The stronger one of the two peaks assigned to the translational mode includes the stretching vibration of the weak hydrogen bond between the acetyl groups of a neighboring one-dimensional chain. The calculation of aspirin form II performed for comparison gives the stretching vibration of the weak hydrogen bond in one-dimensional chain.

A new equation of state is derived from the Barker-Henderson hard-sphere perturbation theory. It has the form similar to the Martin-Hou equation of state. The numerical values of the characteristic constants in the equation can be calculated by the method of Martin and Hou. The equation can be used to predict P-V-T properties accurately for fluids when the critical parameters (T_c, P_c and V_c) and one point on the vapor pressure cure are given. By using the functional relationships between the characteristic constants and the microscopic parameters, the molecular microscopic parameters of the substance can be obtained.

The distributions of different forms of nitrogen in the surface sediments of the southern Huanghai Sea are different and affected by various factors. The contents of IEF-N, SOEF-N and TN gradually decrease eastward, and those of SAEF-N northward, while those of WAEF-N westward. Around the seaport of the old Huanghe (Yellow) River, the contents of both SOEF-N and TN are the highest. Among all the factors, the content of fine sediment is the predominant factor to affect the distributions of different forms of nitrogen. The contents of IEF-N, SOEF-N, and TN have visibly positive correlation with the content of f'me sediments, and the correlative coefficient is 0.68, 0.58 and 0.71 respectively, showing that the contents of the three forms of nitrogen increase with those of f-me sediments. The content of WAEF-N is related to that of fine sediments to a certain extent, with a correlative coefficient of 0.35; while the content of SAEF-N is not related to that of fine sediments, showing that the content of SAEF-N is not controlled by fine grain-size fractions of sediments. In addition, the distributions of different forms of nitrogen are also interacted one another, and the contents of IEF-N and SOEF-N are obviously affected by TN, while those of inorganic nitrogen (WAEF-N, SAEF-N and IEF-N) are not affected by SOEF-N and TN obviously, although they are interacted each other.

Background The question whether metacylic trypomastigote (MT) forms of different T. cruzi strains differentially release surface molecules, and how they affect host cell invasion, remains to be fully clarified. We addressed that question using T. cruzi strains that differ widely in the ability to invade cells. Methodology/Principal Findings Metacyclic forms were incubated at 37°C for 1 h in complete D10 medium or in nutrient-deprived PBS containing Ca2+ and Mg2+ (PBS++). The conditioned medium (CM), collected after parasite centrifugation, was used for cell invasion assays and Western blot analysis, using monoclonal antibodies directed to gp82 and gp90, the MT surface molecules that promote and negatively regulate invasion, respectively. CM of poorly invasive G strain (G-CM) contained high amounts of gp90 and gp82, either in vesicles or as soluble molecules. CM of highly invasive CL strain (CL-CM) contained gp90 and gp82 at very low levels. HeLa cells were incubated for 1 h with CL strain MT in D10, in absence or in the presence of G-CM or CL-CM. Parasite invasion was significantly inhibited by G-CM, but not by CL-CM. As G strain MT invasion rate in D10 is very low, assays with this strain were performed in PBS++, which induces invasion-promoting lysosome-spreading. G-CM, but not CL-CM, significantly inhibited G strain internalization, effect that was counteracted by preincubating G-CM with an anti-gp90 monoclonal antibody or anti-gp82 polyclonal antibody that do not recognize live MT. G strain CM generated in PBS++ contained much lower amounts of gp90 and gp82 as compared to CM produced in D10, and exhibited lower inhibitory effect on host cell invasion. Conclusion/Significance Our data suggest that the surface molecules spontaneously released by MT impair parasite-host cell interaction, gp82 presumably competing with the molecule expressed on MT surface for the host cell receptor, and gp90 further contributing to down modulate invasion. PMID:27483135

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are often described as insoluble or poorly soluble in organic solvents. In a recent study, we have reported that nonfunctionalized CNTs can be solubilized in suitably chosen organic solvents. Furthermore, their solubility could be understood in terms of the Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSPs). The present work addresses further the question of the CNTs solubility by considering a larger range of solvents. A second part is devoted to the application of the HSPs to two types of functionalized CNTs: oxidized and silanized. These results stress the critical role played by the surfacestate of the CNTs, on the one hand, and the interest in using the HSPs to guide solubility investigations, on the other hand.

The semimetal-superconductor quantum phase transition on the two-dimensional (2D) surface of a 3D topological insulator is conjectured to exhibit an emergent N =2 supersymmetry, based on a one-loop renormalization group (RG) analysis in the ɛ expansion. We provide additional support for this conjecture by performing a three-loop RG analysis and showing that the supersymmetric fixed point found at this order survives the extrapolation to 2D. We compute critical exponents to order ɛ3, obtaining the more accurate value ν ≈0.985 for the correlation length exponent and confirming that the fermion and boson anomalous dimensions remain unchanged beyond one loop, as expected from non-renormalization theorems in supersymmetric theories. We further couple the system to a dynamical U(1) gauge field, and argue that the transition becomes fluctuation-induced first order in an appropriate type-I regime. We discuss implications of this result for quantum phase transitions between certain symmetry-preserving correlated surfacestates of 3D topological insulators.

dependence on the ion kinetic energy. This new type of potential sputtering not only requires electronic excitation of the target material, but also the formation of a collision cascade within the target in order to initiate the sputtering process and has therefore been termed kinetically assisted potential sputtering. In order to study defects induced by potential sputtering on the atomic scale we performed measurements of multiply charged Ar ion irradiated HOPG (highly oriented pyrolitic graphite) samples with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The only surface defects found in the STM images are protrusions. The mean diameter of the defects increases with projectile charge state while the height of the protrusions stays roughly the same indicating a possible pre-equilibrium effect of the stopping of slow multiply charged projectiles in HOPG. Total sputter yields for impact of slow singly and multiply charged ions on metal- (Au), oxide- (Al2O3, MgO) and alkali-halide surfaces (LiF) have been measured as a...

A method used to treat the elastic distortion of a uniaxial nematic liquid crystal induced by homogeneous anchoring on the surface grooves is generalized to biaxial nematic liquid crystals under the homeotropic anchoring condition.Employing some approximations for the elastic constants,we obtain an additional term in the elastic energy per unit area which depends on the angle between the minor director at infinity and the direction of the grooves,with a period of π/2.This leads to instability on the surface grooves so that two states with crossed minor directors are energetically indistinguishable.Our theoretical study explains why the homeotropic alignment method developed for uniaxial liquid crystals loses efficacy for biaxial nematics.In most liquid crystal devices,the liquid crystals are sandwiched between two substrates coated with alignment layers.In the absence of externally applied fields,the orientation of the liquid crystal in the cell is determined by the anchoring condition of the alignment layer.[1-3] One usually distinguishes three main types of liquid crystalline director alignment near solid walls:homeotropic,homogeneous (or planar) and tilted orientations.Here we study the first of these and consider the biaxial nematic phase,which was observed in lyotropic systems as early as 1980[4] and has been confirmed by deuterium NMR spectroscopy.%A method used to treat the elastic distortion of a uniaxial nematic liquid crystal induced by homogeneous anchoring on the surface grooves is generalized to biaxial nematic liquid crystals under the homeotropic anchoring condition. Employing some approximations for the elastic constants, we obtain an additional term in the elastic energy per unit area which depends on the angle between the minor director at infinity and the direction of the grooves, with a period of π/2. This leads to instability on the surface grooves so that two states with crossed minor directors are energetically indistinguishable. Our

Full Text Available The paper proposes a new approach to the design of the technological equipment used for surface treatment of a free-form object by laser radiation. Design advantages and disadvantages of the similar laser cutting machine with beam focusing control are considered. We propose a new scheme that improves the optical characteristics of the device by reducing the number of reflections in the collimating system. The base for the proposed mechanism is XY table with numerical control. The driven element of the apparatus is the optical head with the ability to adjust the focal distance and the system of beam stabilization based on a modified Stewart platform. Laser radiation of the ultraviolet range is transmitted from the laser source through the optical fiber. A proposed solution is implemented in experimental device for selective polymer curing.

Greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the ammonia volatilization loss with of without application of surface film-forming material (SFFM),Ammonia volatilization loss was estimated by the model developed by Jayaweera and Mikkelsen,The results showed that the model could estimated by the model developed by Jayaweera and Mikkelsen,The results showed that the model could estimate and predict well ammonia volatilization loss also in case of SFFM addition,There was an emended factor B introduced to the model calculation when SFFM was used ,Simulated calculation showed that the effect of factor B on NH3 loss was obvious,The value of B was overned by SFFM and the environtal conditions.Sensitivity analysis suggested that pH was the main factor contronlling NH3 volatilization loss from the floodwater.

We have grown high density Co dusters with a narrow-sized distribution on the Si3N4(0001)-(8 × 8) surface. In the submonolayer regime, Co clusters tend to keep a certain size (～ 1.45 nm in diameter) irrespective of coverage.With increasing coverage above 0.92 ML, two new clusters with certain but larger sizes are formed. This novel growth behaviour can be explained by the quantum size effect [Phys. Rev. Lett. 90 (2003) 185506]. It is found that the Co cluster size distribution can be improved by post annealing. Even at high temperature (700℃ ), no reaction of Co with Si3N4 is observed, indicating that Si3N4(0001)-(8 × 8) is a promising substrate for growth of magnetic nanostructures.

This paper presents a predictor-based neural dynamic surface control (PNDSC) design method for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems in a strict-feedback form. In contrast to existing NDSC approaches where the tracking errors are commonly used to update neural network weights, a predictor is proposed for every subsystem, and the prediction errors are employed to update the neural adaptation laws. The proposed scheme enables smooth and fast identification of system dynamics without incurring high-frequency oscillations, which are unavoidable using classical NDSC methods. Furthermore, the result is extended to the PNDSC with observer feedback, and its robustness against measurement noise is analyzed. Numerical and experimental results are given to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed PNDSC architecture.

Self-assembled monolayer (SAM) films have been formed on oxidized copper (Cu) substrates by reaction with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecylphosphonic acid (PFDP), octadecylphosphonic acid (ODP), decylphosphonic acid (DP), and octylphosphonic acid (OP) and then investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle measurement (CAM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The presence of alkyl phosphonate molecules, PFDP, ODP, DP, and OP, on Cu were confirmed by CAM and XPS analysis. No alkyl phosphonate molecules were seen by XPS on unmodified Cu as a control. The PFDP/Cu and ODP/Cu SAMs were found to be very hydrophobic having water sessile drop static contact angles of more than 140 degrees , while DP/Cu and OP/Cu have contact angles of 119 degrees and 76 degrees , respectively. PFDP/Cu, ODP/Cu, DP/Cu, and OP/Cu SAMs were studied by friction force microscopy, a derivative of AFM, to better understand their micro/nanotribological properties. PFDP/Cu, ODP/Cu, and DP/Cu had comparable adhesive force, which is much lower than that for unmodified Cu. ODP/Cu had the lowest friction coefficient followed by PFDP/Cu, DP/Cu, and OP/Cu while unmodified Cu had the highest. XPS data gives some indication that a bidentate bond forms between the alkyl phosphonate molecules and the oxidized Cu surface. Hydrophobic phosphonate SAMs could be useful as corrosion inhibitors in micro/nanoelectronic devices and/or as promoters for anti-wetting, low adhesion surfaces.

We investigated state effects of two forms of meditation on electroencephalography prefrontal α-asymmetry, a global indicator of approach versus withdrawal motivation and related affective state. A clinical series of previously depressed individuals were guided to practice either mindfulness breathing meditation (N = 8) or a form of meditation directly aimed at cultivating positive affect, loving kindness or metta meditation (N = 7). Prefrontal asymmetry was assessed directly before and after the 15-min meditation period. Results showed changes in asymmetry towards stronger relative left prefrontal activation, i.e., stronger approach tendencies, regardless of condition. Further explorations of these findings suggested that responses were moderated by participants' tendencies to engage in ruminative brooding. Individuals high in brooding tended to respond to breathing meditation but not loving kindness meditation, while those low in brooding showed the opposite pattern. Comparisons with an additionally recruited "rest" group provided evidence suggesting that changes seen were not simply attributable to habituation. The results indicate that both forms of meditation practice can have beneficial state effects on prefrontal α-asymmetry and point towards differential indications for offering them in the treatment of previously depressed patients.

We build an effective impedance for two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals (PCs) comprising a rectangular lattice of dielectric cylinders with the incident electric field polarized along the axis of the cylinders. In particular, we discuss the feasibility of constructing an effective impedance for the case where the Bloch wave vector is far away from the center of Brillouin zone, where the optical response of the PC is necessarily anisotropic, and hence the effective description becomes inevitably angle dependent. We employ the scattering theory and treat the 2D system as a stack of 1D arrays. We consider only the zero-order interlayer diffraction, and all the higher order diffraction terms of interlayer scattering are ignored. This approximation works well when the higher order diffraction terms are all evanescent waves and the interlayer distance is far enough for them to decay out. Scattering theory enables the calculation of transmission and reflection coefficients of a finite-sized slab, and we extract the effective parameters such as the effective impedance (Ze) and the effective refractive index (ne) using a parameter retrieval method. We note that ne is uniquely defined only in a very limited region of the reciprocal space. (nek0a ≪1 , where k0 is the wave vector inside the vacuum and a is thickness of the slab for retrieval), but Ze is uniquely defined and has a well-defined meaning inside a much larger domain in the reciprocal space. For a lossless system, the effective impedance Ze is purely real for the pass band and purely imaginary in the band gaps. Using the sign of the imaginary part of Ze, we can classify the band gaps into two groups, and this classification explains why there is usually no surfacestate on the boundary of typical fully gapped PCs composed of a lattice of dielectric cylinders. This effective medium approach also allows us to predict the dispersion of surfacestates even when the surface wave vectors are well beyond the zone

High affinity of titanium to oxygen in combination with the high surface area of the powder results in tremendous powder reactivity and almost inevitable presence of passivation oxide film on the powder surface. Oxide film is formed during the short exposure of the powder to the environment at even a trace amount of oxygen. Hence, surfacestate of the powder determines its usefulness for powder metallurgy processing. Present study is focused on the evaluation of the surface oxide state of the Ti, NiTi and Ti6Al4V powders in as-atomized state and after storage under air or Ar for up to eight years. Powder surface oxide state was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR SEM). Results indicate that powder in as-atomized state is covered by homogeneous Ti-oxide layer with the thickness of ∼2.9 nm for Ti, ∼3.2 nm and ∼4.2 nm in case of Ti6Al4V and NiTi powders, respectively. Exposure to the air results in oxide growth of about 30% in case of Ti and only about 10% in case of NiTi and Ti6Al4V. After the storage under the dry air for two years oxide growth of only about 3-4% was detected in case of both, Ti and NiTi powders. NiTi powder, stored under the dry air for eight years, indicates oxide thickness of about 5.3 nm, which is about 30% thicker in comparison with the as-atomized powder. Oxide thickness increase of only ∼15% during the storage for eight years in comparison with the powder, shortly exposed to the air after manufacturing, was detected. Results indicate a high passivation of the Ti, Ti6Al4V and NiTi powder surface by homogeneous layer of Ti-oxide formed even during short exposure of the powder to the air.

Release of nuclear species from spent fuel ceramic waste form storage depends on the individual constituent properties as well as their internal morphology, heterogeneity and boundary conditions. Predicting the release rate is essential for designing a ceramic waste form, which is capable of effectively storing the spent fuel without contaminating the surrounding environment for a longer period of time. To predict the release rate, in the present work a conformal finite element model is developed based on the Nernst Planck Equation. The equation describes charged species transport through different media by convection, diffusion, or migration. And the transport can be driven by chemical/electrical potentials or velocity fields. The model calculates species flux in the waste form with different diffusion coefficient for each species in each constituent phase. In the work reported, a 2D approach is taken to investigate the contributions of different basic parameters in a waste form design, i.e., volume fraction, phase dispersion, phase surface area variation, phase diffusion co-efficient, boundary concentration etc. The analytical approach with preliminary results is discussed. The method is postulated to be a foundation for conformal analysis based design of heterogeneous waste form materials.

Environmental contours describing extreme sea states are generated as the input for numerical or physical model simulation s as a part of the stand ard current practice for designing marine structure s to survive extreme sea states. Such environmental contours are characterized by combinations of significant wave height ( ) and energy period ( ) values calculated for a given recurrence interval using a set of data based on hindcast simulations or buoy observations over a sufficient period of record. The use of the inverse first - order reliability method (IFORM) i s standard design practice for generating environmental contours. In this paper, the traditional appli cation of the IFORM to generating environmental contours representing extreme sea states is described in detail and its merits and drawbacks are assessed. The application of additional methods for analyzing sea state data including the use of principal component analysis (PCA) to create an uncorrelated representation of the data under consideration is proposed. A reexamination of the components of the IFORM application to the problem at hand including the use of new distribution fitting techniques are shown to contribute to the development of more accurate a nd reasonable representations of extreme sea states for use in survivability analysis for marine struc tures. Keywords: In verse FORM, Principal Component Analysis , Environmental Contours, Extreme Sea State Characteri zation, Wave Energy Converters

Singlet fission to form a pair of triplet excitations on two neighboring molecules and the reverse process, triplet-triplet annihilation to upconvert excitation, have been extensively studied. Comparatively little work has sought to examine the properties of the intermediate state in both of these processes-the bimolecular pair state. Here, the eigenstates constituting the manifold of 16 bimolecular pair excitations and their relative energies in the weak-coupling regime are reported. The lowest-energy states obtained from the branching diagram method are the triplet pairs with overall singlet spin |X1⟩ ≈ (1)[TT] and quintet spin |Q⟩ ≈ (5)[TT]. It is shown that triplet pair states can be separated by a triplet-triplet energy-transfer mechanism to give a separated, yet entangled triplet pair (1)[T···T]. Independent triplets are produced by decoherence of the separated triplet pair. Recombination of independent triplets by exciton-exciton annihilation to form the correlated triplet pair (i.e., nongeminate recombination) happens with 1/3 of the rate of either triplet migration or recombination of the separated correlated triplet pair (geminate recombination).

Motivated by experimental observations of exotic standing wave patterns in the two-frequency Faraday experiment, we investigate the role of normal form symmetries in the pattern selection problem. With forcing frequency components in ratio m/n, where m and n are co-prime integers, there is the possibility that both harmonic and subharmonic waves may lose stability simultaneously, each with a different wavenumber. We focus on this situation and compare the case where the harmonic waves have a longer wavelength than the subharmonic waves with the case where the harmonic waves have a shorter wavelength. We show that in the former case a normal form transformation can be used to remove all quadratic terms from the amplitude equations governing the relevant resonant triad interactions. Thus the role of resonant triads in the pattern selection problem is greatly diminished in this situation. We verify our general results within the example of one-dimensional surface wave solutions of the Zhang-Vinals model of the t...

Although the ventilation system is widely employed in the operating theater, a strictly sterile surgical environment still cannot be ensured because of laminar disturbance, which is mainly caused by the surgical lighting system. Abandoning traditional products, we propose an LED surgical lighting system, which can alleviate the laminar disturbance and provide an appropriate lighting condition for surgery. It contains a certain amount of LED lens units, which are embedded in the ceiling and arranged around the air supply smallpox. The LED lens unit integrated with an LED light source and a free-form lens is required to produce a uniform circular illumination with a large tolerance to the change of lighting distance. To achieve such a dedicated lens, two free-form refractive surfaces, which are converted into two ordinary differential equations by the design method presented in this paper, are used to deflect the rays. The results show that the LED surgical lighting system can provide an excellent illumination environment for surgery, and, apparently, the laminar disturbance also can be relieved.

Many industries including automotive, aerospace, electronics, shipbuilding, offshore, railway and heavy equipment employ surface modification technologies to change the surface properties of a manufactured product. Often, the surface is covered (coated) with a dissimilar clad layer for this purpose

A hydrophilic or a hydrophobic long rigid solid plate of finite width, forming a meniscus with a liquid in a uniform gravitational field is considered. The one-dimensional meniscus with prescribed heights of the triple point from the far-field liquid surface is investigated analytically using the Young Laplace equation. It is found that for a hydrophilic plate, the vertical force necessary to break the meniscus during removal of the plate from the liquid is larger than the force necessary to break the meniscus during submersion of the plate into the liquid. Furthermore, the capillary force on the plate reaches a maximum before the meniscus collapses during removal, but no maximum exists before collapse during submersion. The reverse is true when the plate is hydrophobic. The study is then extended to investigate the interaction force between two plates, each forming a meniscus with the liquid. The elevations of the plates from the far-field liquid surface are prescribed, in contrast to earlier studies where interaction between long cylinders floating under self weight was considered. Here, the menisci are determined exactly using the Young Laplace equation. It is shown that for prescribed plate elevations, there can be at most two possible pairs of menisci between them. Each pair bifurcates from a meniscus that is determined by the elevations of the plates and the gap between them. Furthermore, as known for solids floating under self-weight, the horizontal component of the interaction force is attractive for similar menisci (e.g. when the two plates are equally displaced in or out of the liquid), and repulsive when they form opposite menisci. It is shown that if the two menisci are of the same type, but not similar (e.g. one plate is pushed more into the liquid than the other), then the force is attractive at long distances, and may be repulsive at shorter distances with a stable equilibrium at a finite distance between the plates, depending on the elevations of

Full Text Available Soil erodibility (K factor is the most important tool for estimation the erosion. The aim of this study Soil factors and surface soil characteristics are important components of agricultural environment. They support surface and subsurface soils to perform many functions to agriculture and economic human developments. Understanding these factors would aid to the recognition of the values that our soil and land offered to humanity. It is therefore, aim of this study to visualise and examine the soil factors and surface soil characteristics in Kebbi State Nigeria. An Integrated Surface Soil Approach (ISSA was used in the classification and description of soil environment in the study region. The factors constituted in the ISSA are important components of soil science that theories and practice(s noted to provide ideas on how soil environment functioned. The results indicate that the surface soil environments around Arewa, Argungu, Augie, Birnin Kebbi and Dandi are physically familiar with the following surface soil characteristics: bad-lands, blown-out-lands, cirque-lands, fertile-lands, gullied-lands, miscellaneous and rock-outcrops.The major soil factors observed hat played an important role in surface soil manipulations and soil formation are alluvial, colluvial, fluvial and lacustrine; ant, earthworms and termite; and various forms of surface relief supported by temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and wind. Overall, the surface soil environment of the region was describe according to their physical appearance into fadama clay soils, fadama clay-loam soils, dryland sandy soils, dryland sandy-loam soils, dryland stony soils and organic-mineral soils.

Mitochondrial import of cleavable preproteins occurs at translocation contact sites, where the translocase of the outer membrane (TOM) associates with the presequence translocase of the inner membrane (TIM23) in a supercomplex. Different views exist on the mechanism of how TIM23 mediates preprotein sorting to either the matrix or inner membrane. On the one hand, two TIM23 forms were proposed, a matrix transport form containing the presequence translocase-associated motor (PAM; TIM23-PAM) and a sorting form containing Tim21 (TIM23(SORT)). On the other hand, it was reported that TIM23 and PAM are permanently associated in a single-entity translocase. We have accumulated distinct transport intermediates of preproteins to analyze the translocases in their active, preprotein-carrying state. We identified two different forms of active TOM-TIM23 supercomplexes, TOM-TIM23(SORT) and TOM-TIM23-PAM. These two supercomplexes do not represent separate pathways but are in dynamic exchange during preprotein translocation and sorting. Depending on the signals of the preproteins, switches between the different forms of supercomplex and TIM23 are required for the completion of preprotein import.

In this paper the relationship between the surface relaxations and the electron density distributions of surfacestates of Cu(100), Cu(110), and Cu(111) surfaces is obtained by first-principles calculations. The calculations indicate that relaxations mainly occur in the layers at which the surfacestates electrons are localized, and the magnitudes of the multilayer relaxations correspond to the difference of electron density of surfacestates between adjacent layers. The larger the interlayer relaxation is, the larger the difference of electron density of surfacestates between two layers is.

Highlights: • Spin-polarized two-electron spectroscopy (e,2e) was applied for studying surfacestates on Cu(111) and Au(111). • Relative (to d-states) contribution of surfacestates in the (e,2e) spectrum decreases exponentially when primary electron energy increases from 14 to 30 eV. • Spin asymmetry is readily observed in the spectra of Au(111) whereas in the spectra of Cu(111) the spin effect is negligible. - Abstract: The emission of correlated electron pairs excited from surfaces of Au(111) and Cu(111) by low-energy electrons is measured and analyzed. Energy and momentum conservation allows identification of electron pairs involving excitation of electrons from Shockley surfacestates and from valence d-states. The relative contributions of surface and d-states to the measured spectra of correlated electron pairs is shown to depend on the primary electron energy and is larger from surfacestates at relatively small primary energies. The use of a spin-polarized incident electron beam highlights the spin effects in producing an electron pair. Measurements show that spin effects are larger for the pair excitation from the valence d-states than for pairs excited from the surfacestates.

We determine maps of local surface wave amplitude factors across the Western United States for Rayleigh and Love waves at discrete periods between 25 and 125s. Measurements of raw amplitude anomalies are made from data recorded at 1161 USArray stations for minor arc arrivals of earthquakes with Mw>5.5 occurring between 2006 and 2010. We take the difference between high-quality amplitude anomaly measurements for events recorded on station pairs less than 2 degrees apart. The mean of these differences for each station pair is taken as the datum. Surface wave amplitudes are controlled by four separate mechanisms: focusing due to elastic structure, attenuation due to anelastic structure, source effects, and receiver effects. By taking the mean of the differences of amplitude anomalies for neighboring stations, we reduce the effects of focusing, attenuation, and the seismic source, thus isolating amplitude anomalies due to near-receiver amplitude effects. We determine local amplitude factors for each USArray station by standard linear inversion of the differential data set. The individual station amplitude factors explain the majority of the variance of the data. For example, derived station amplitude factors for 50s Rayleigh waves explain 92% of the variance of the data. We explore correlations between derived station amplitude factors and local amplitude factors predicted by crust and upper mantle models. Maps of local amplitude factors show spatial correlation with topography and geologic structures in the Western United States, particularly for maps derived from Rayleigh wave amplitude anomalies. A NW-SE trending high in amplitude factors in Eastern California is evident in the 50s map, corresponding to the location of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. High amplitude factors are observed in Colorado and New Mexico in the 50s-125s maps in the location of the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains. High amplitude factors are also seen in Southern Idaho and Eastern Wyoming in

Full Text Available Physiological studies of color processing have typically measured responses to spatially varying chromatic stimuli such as gratings, while psychophysical studies of color include color naming, color and light, as well as spatial and temporal chromatic sensitivities. This raises the question of whether we have one or several cortical color processing systems. Here we show from non-linear analysis of human visual evoked potentials (VEP the presence of distinct and independent temporal signatures for form and surface color processing. Surface color stimuli produced most power in the second order Wiener kernel, indicative of a slowly recovering neural system, while chromatic form stimulation produced most power in the first order kernel (showing rapid recovery. We find end-spectral saturation-dependent signals, easily separable from achromatic signals for surface color stimuli. However physiological responses to form color stimuli, though varying somewhat with saturation, showed similar waveform components. Lastly, the spectral dependence of surface and form color VEP was different, with the surface color responses almost vanishing with yellow-grey isoluminant stimulation whereas the form color VEP shows robust recordable signals across all hues. Thus, surface and form colored stimuli engage different neural systems within cortex, pointing to the need to establish their relative contributions under the diverse chromatic stimulus conditions used in the literature.

Physiological studies of color processing have typically measured responses to spatially varying chromatic stimuli such as gratings, while psychophysical studies of color include color naming, color and light, as well as spatial and temporal chromatic sensitivities. This raises the question of whether we have one or several cortical color processing systems. Here we show from non-linear analysis of human visual evoked potentials (VEP) the presence of distinct and independent temporal signatures for form and surface color processing. Surface color stimuli produced most power in the second order Wiener kernel, indicative of a slowly recovering neural system, while chromatic form stimulation produced most power in the first order kernel (showing rapid recovery). We find end-spectral saturation-dependent signals, easily separable from achromatic signals for surface color stimuli. However physiological responses to form color stimuli, though varying somewhat with saturation, showed similar waveform components. Lastly, the spectral dependence of surface and form color VEP was different, with the surface color responses almost vanishing with yellow-grey isoluminant stimulation whereas the form color VEP shows robust recordable signals across all hues. Thus, surface and form colored stimuli engage different neural systems within cortex, pointing to the need to establish their relative contributions under the diverse chromatic stimulus conditions used in the literature.

The grain growth behavior in reactive spray formed 7075+2.91vol%TiC Al alloy was studied and compared with that of spray formed 7075 Al alloy at semi-solid state. The effects of in-situ TiC particles on the microstructure of spray formed 7075 Al alloy were also investigated. The specimens were heat-treated isothermally at various temperatures between the solidus and liquidus of 7075 Al alloy for times in the range of 10-60 min, then quenched in water. The microstructure of reheated specimens was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy. The grain size was measured using a mean linear intercept method.Results show that the in-situ TiC particles can effectively retard grain growth and refine the grain at a limited size. The grain growth exponent in Arrhenius equation increases from 2 to 3, which indicates that the in-situ TiC particles have the significant pinning effect on grain coarsening in the semi-solid state.

Full Text Available Violations of mnestic reactions are one of substantial signs of disorders of nervous activity. On the basis of it, as a criterion of forming of experimental psychosis, in our supervisions, the state of processes of conditionally-reflex memory was studied in rats. To cover up mechanisms of derangements of conditionally reflex activity in the process of forming of psychotic symptomatic complex, maintenance of adrenalin, noradrenalinum and neurospecific albumen S - 100 in the brain structures, that take a direct part in the processes of memory was studied. Derangements of cognitive function, that are the result of neurotoxic action of sydnocarb, are related to reduction of maintenance of noradrenalinum in the frontal cortex, as well as adrenalin in the pons varolii. That is, sydnocarb psychosis is accompanied by reduction of activating role of the cortex and trunk structures, negatively affecting the state of mnestic reactions. In the hippocampus and striate body excitation causes violation of memory processes and on the contrary, concentration of noradrenalinum rose. Thus, the presented model of experimental psychosis, created by subacute introduction of sydnocarb, is an adequate and alternative methodology of psychotic disorders forming in animals resulted from direct participation of the catecholaminergetic systems of CNS.

We investigate the effect of regolith depth on boulder ejection velocity. A "boulder" refers to an apparently intact rock or rock fragment lying on a planetary surface, regardless of emplacement mechanism. Boulders appear in planetary images as positive relief features --- bright, sun-facing pixels adjacent to dark, shadowed pixels. We studied 12 lunar craters in high resolution (1~m) photographs from Lunar Orbiter III and V. Local regolith depth was measured using the method of small crater morphology. Ejection velocities of boulders were calculated assuming a ballistic trajectory to the final boulder location. A plot of regolith depth/crater diameter vs. maximum boulder ejection velocity shows that craters formed in deeper regolith (with respect to crater size) eject boulders at lower velocities. When ejection velocity (EjV) is in m/s, and regolith depth (Dr) and crater diameter (Dc) are in meters, the data fit the relation Dr / Dc = 1053 × EjVmax-2.823. To explain the data, we turn to impact cratering theory. An ejected particle will follow a streamline from its place of origin to its ejection point (the Z-model), and then follow a ballistic trajectory. Material ejected along more shallow streamlines is ejected at greater velocities. If shallow regolith covers the surface, the most shallow (greatest velocity) streamlines will travel only through the regolith. Boulders, however, must be ejected from the bedrock below the regolith. Thus, the boulder ejected with the greatest velocity originates just below the regolith, along the most shallow streamline through the bedrock. If the regolith is deeper, the most shallow streamline through the bedrock will be deeper, and the maximum velocity of an ejected boulder will be lower. Hence, the regolith depth and maximum ejection velocity of a boulder are correlated: greater boulder ejection velocities correspond to thinner regolith. We observe this correlation in the data.

Tin dioxide (SnO2) nano-particles were prepared on high silica TON, MFI and FAU type zeolites by impregnation of SnCl2 solution and subsequent calcination at 873 K. XRD and SAED were used to characterize the crystalline phase, and TEM was used to characterize the morphology, the particle size and the agglomerative state of the formed nano-materials. The nano-particles, which possess 8 nm, 10-80 nm and 6 nm in size, were found to form on the outer surface of TON, MFI and FAU zeolites, respectively. SnO2 microcapsules and SnO2 netlike nanostructure were obtained by decomposition of SnO2-TON and SnO2-MFI in 40% hydrofluoric acid at room temperature.Compared with the nano-particles formed on NaY zeolite, the special morphology and the agglomerative state of SnO2 nanostructures on TON and MFI type zeolites with one and two dimension channel system indicate that the heterogeneous framework, surface structure and property perform important function for forming and growing SnO2 nanostructure on the outer surface of the zeolites.

Full Text Available In the article we examined the main models and forms of public-private partnership, their role in the socio-economic development and deepening of financial convergence of countries-participants of the partnership. The attention was paid to decentralization of inter-stateforms of public-private partnership as the basis of cross-border and transnational partnership. The scientific research, described in this publication, have found their practical application in the realization of the project within Euro-region “Bug”. This project has founded a joined Ukrainian – Polish institution of labor migration administration and also of granting necessary permissions for realization activities within Ukraine.

Full Text Available Equation of state for systems with particles self-assembling into aggregates is derived within a mesoscopic theory combining density functional and field-theoretic approaches. We focus on the effect of mesoscopic fluctuations in the disordered phase. The pressure - volume fraction isotherms are calculated explicitly for two forms of the short-range attraction long-range repulsion potential. Mesoscopic fluctuations lead to an increased pressure in each case, except for very small volume fractions. When large clusters are formed, the mechanical instability of the system is present at much higher temperature than found in mean-field approximation. In this case phase separation competes with the formation of periodic phases (colloidal crystals. In the case of small clusters, no mechanical instability associated with separation into dilute and dense phases appears.

A detailed knowledge of the condensed phase chemistry occurring in polymers exposed to elevated temperatures is crucial to understanding the behaviour of polymers exposed to fire. This is particularly true when trying to reduce polymer flammability by means of promoting char-forming reactions. Until recently, however, structural information on highly crosslinked chars and their precursors has been difficult to obtain, and as a consequence many degradation workers have merely labelled degradation residues as 'intractable'. However, the application of solid state NMR techniques developed in our laboratories for the structural characterisation of coals has provided a considerable insight into the structure and chemistry of polymer chars formed under both oxidative and non-oxidative conditions. A series of polymers including poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinyl acetate), polyurethanes, polychloropene, cis and trans polyisoprene have been studied. These polymers have been used to describe the application of quantitati...

We investigate the response of the bound state structure of a two-boson system, within a Yukawa model with a scalar boson exchange, to the inclusion of the cross-ladder contribution to the ladder kernel of the Bethe-Salpeter equation. The equation is solved by means of the Nakanishi integral representation and light-front projection. The valence light-front wave function and the elastic electromagnetic form factor beyond the impulse approximation, with the inclusion of the two-body current, generated by the cross-ladder kernel, are computed. The valence wave function and electromagnetic form factor, considering both ladder and ladder plus cross-ladder kernels, are studied in detail. Their asymptotic forms are found to be quite independent of the inclusion of the cross-ladder kernel, for a given binding energy. The asymptotic decrease of form factor agrees with the counting rules. This analysis can be generalized to fermionic systems, with a wide application in the study of the meson structure.

Nitrogen oxides are considered to be important astrochemical precursors of complex species and prebiotics. However, apart from the hydrogenation of solid NO that leads to the surface formation of hydroxylamine, little is known about the full solid state reaction network involving both nitrogen and oxygen. Our study is divided into two papers, hereby called Part I and Part II. In the accompanying paper, we investigate the surface reactions NO + O/O2/O3 and NO + N with a focus on the formation of NO2 ice. Here, we complement this study by measurements of the surface destruction of solid NO2, e.g., NO2 + H/O/N. Experiments are performed in two separate ultra-high vacuum setups and therefore under different experimental conditions to better constrain the experimental results. Surface reaction products are monitored by means of Fourier Transform Reflection Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-RAIRS) and Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) techniques using mass spectrometry. The surface destruction of solid NO2 leads to the formation of a series of nitrogen oxides such as NO, N2O, N2O3, and N2O4 as well as HNO, NH2OH, and H2O. When NO2 is mixed with an interstellar more relevant apolar (i.e., CO) ice, solid CO2 and HCOOH are also formed due to interactions between different reaction routes. The astrophysical implications of the full nitrogen and oxygen reaction network derived from Parts I and II are discussed.

We study the effect of surface stress on the pure bending of a finite thickness plate under large deformation. The surface is assumed to be isotropic and its stress consists of a part that can be interpreted as a residual stress and a part that stiffens as the surface increases its area. Our results show that residual surface stress and surface stiffness can both increase the overall bending stiffness but through different mechanisms. For sufficiently large residual surface tension, we discover a new type of instability - the bending moment reaches a maximum at a critical curvature. Effects of surface stress on different stress components in the bulk of the plate are discussed and the possibility of self-bending due to asymmetry of the surface properties is also explored. The results of our calculations provide insights into surface stress effects in the large deformation regime and can be used as a test for implementation of finite element methods for surface elasticity.

To give further insight into the behavior of Fe/Dy multilayers in the crystallization from as-deposited amorphous state, free energy diagram of Fe/Dy system was constructed based on Miedema semiempirical theory. It is shown that the crystallization of amorphous films is controlled by both thermodynamic and kinetic conditions. The calculated free energies of crystalline Fe and Dy are significantly lower than those in the amorphous states, which provide thermodynamic driving force for crystallization. During annealing, the kinetic phase evolution of the multilayers is controlled by free energy barrier of nucleation and critical-size of new phase nucleus. Thus it explains the experimental results that Fe crystallites formed first followed by Dy grains, whereas crystalline Fe-Dy intermetallic compounds were not observed during annealing at moderate temperatures.

We report on a new experimental method based on initial-state radiation (ISR) in e-p scattering, which exploits the radiative tail of the elastic peak to study the properties of electromagnetic processes and to extract the proton charge form factor (GEp) at extremely small Q2. The ISR technique was implemented in an experiment at the three-spectrometer facility of the Mainz Microtron (MAMI). This led to a precise validation of radiative corrections far away from elastic line and provided first measurements of GEp for 0.001 ≤Q2 ≤ 0.004(GeV / c) 2.

In order to seek an effective way for preventing restenosis after coronary stent implantation, a proposal of increasing the amount of loaded drug without changing the size of struts was given. Thereafter, a process of fabricating in-situ formed sub-micro-pores on 316L stainless steel (316L SS) was demonstrated. An aluminum thin film was deposited by magnetron sputtering on a 316L substrate. The aluminum film was then anodized in different acids (0.3 M oxalic and 10 vol.% sulfuric) by regulating direct current power supply. Through an appropriate chemical dissolution, the anodic alumina film was removed and the underlying porous 316L was obtained. The morphology of the porous 316L surface was examined by scanning electron microscope and the composition of the pores was investigated by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The corrosion behavior of the porous 316L was evaluated by the polarization measurement. The results indicate that the shape and size of pores could be affected evidently by the acids used in anodization. The pores density is found to change with variation of the applied voltage in anodization. The corrosion current of the anodized specimens decrease and the corrosion voltage increase, compared with the untreated specimens.

On the investigation of biomimetic drag-reducing surface, direct replication of the firm scarfskins on low-resistance creatures to form biomimetic drag-reducing surfaces with relatively vivid morphology relative to the living prototype is a new attempt of the bio-replicated forming technology. Taking shark skin as the bio-replication template, the hot embossing method was applied to the micro-replication of its outward morphology. Furthermore, the skins were jointed together to form the drag-reducing sur-face in large area. The results of the resistance measurements in a water tunnel according to the flat-plate sample pieces have shown that the biomimetic shark-skin coating fabricated by the bio-replicated forming method has significant drag reduction effect, and that the drag reduction effi-ciency reached 8.25% in the test conditions.

Thermally induced solid-state dewetting of ultra-thin films on insulators is a process of prime interest, since it is capable of easily forming nanocrystals. If no particular treatment is performed to the film prior to the solid-state dewetting, it is already known that the size, the shape and the density of nanocrystals is governed by the initial film thickness. In this paper, we report a novel approach to control the size and the surface density of silicon nanocrystals based on an argon-implantation preliminary surface treatment. Using 7.5 nm thin layers of silicon, we show that increasing the implantation dose tends to form smaller silicon nanocrystals with diameter and height lower than 50 nm and 30 nm, respectively. Concomitantly, the surface density is increased by a factor greater than 20, going from 5 μm‑2 to values over 100 μm‑2.

We give a canonical form of PPT states in ${\\cal C}^2 \\otimes {\\cal C}^2\\otimes {\\cal C}^2 \\otimes {\\cal C}^N$ with rank=$N$. From this canonical form a necessary separable condition for these states is presented.

... encounter alien victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons who are potential witnesses to that... the United States for victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons. 1100.35 Section 1100.35 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND DEPARTMENT OF STATE TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS Victims of...

Nanometer MgO samples with high surface area,small crystal size and mesoporous texture were synthesized tion process accelerated the sintering of MgO,and MgO with calcining its precursor in flowing dry nitrogen at 520℃ for 4 h.The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction,N2 adsorption,transmission electron microscopy,thermogravimetry,and differential thermal analysis.The as-prepared MgO was composed of nanocrystals with a size of about 4-5 nm and formed a wormhole-like porous structure.The MgO also had good thermal stability,and its surface areas remained at 357 and 153 m2.g-1 after calcination at 600 and 800℃ for 2 h,respectively.Compared with the MgO sample prepared by the precipitation method,MgO prepared by solid-state chemical reaction has uniform pore size distribution,surface area,and crystal size.The solid-state chemical method has the advantages of low cost,low pollution,and high yield,therefore it appears to be a promising method in the industrial manufacture of nanometer MgO.

The purpose of the present work is to determine initial conditions that generate reacting, recrossing-free trajectories that cross the conventional dividing surface of transition state theory (i.e., the plane in configuration space passing through a saddle point of the potential energy surface and perpendicular to the reaction coordinate) without ever returning to it. Local analytical equations of motion valid in the neighborhood of this planar surface have been derived as an expansion in Poisson brackets. We show that the mere presence of a saddle point implies that reactivity criteria can be quite simply formulated in terms of elements of this series, irrespective of the shape of the potential energy function. Some of these elements are demonstrated to be equal to a sum of squares and thus to be necessarily positive, which has a profound impact on the dynamics. The method is then applied to a three-dimensional model describing an atom-diatom interaction. A particular relation between initial conditions is shown to generate a bundle of reactive trajectories that form reactive cylinders (or conduits) in phase space. This relation considerably reduces the phase space volume of initial conditions that generate recrossing-free trajectories. Loci in phase space of reactive initial conditions are presented. Reactivity is influenced by symmetry, as shown by a comparative study of collinear and bent transition states. Finally, it is argued that the rules that have been derived to generate reactive trajectories in classical mechanics are also useful to build up a reactive wave packet.

Initial study of hydrogen isotopes distribution on inner surface of a hollow spherical shell under cryogenic conditions is given. Comparison of theoretical and experimental surfaces of ice layers of various hydrogen isotopes is performed.

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Mutitechnique characterisation of oxidised 304L. • Oxidation at high temperature under steam and air conditions of 304L stainless steel. • Chromium and manganese oxides formed in the outer layer. • Oxide profiles differ in air or steam atmosphere. - Abstract: In case of a severe accident occurring in a nuclear reactor, surfaces of the reactor coolant system (RCS), made of stainless steel (304L) rich in Cr (>10%) and Ni (8–12%), are oxidised. Fission products (FPs) are released from melt fuel and flow through the RCS. A part of them is deposited onto surfaces either by vapour condensation or by aerosol deposition mechanisms. To be able to understand the nature of interactions between these FPs and the RCS surfaces, a preliminary step is to characterize the RSC surfacestates in steam and air atmosphere at high temperatures. Pieces of 304L stainless steel have been treated in a flow reactor at two different temperatures (750 °C and 950 °C) for two different exposition times (24 h and 72 h). After surfaces analysing by a unique combination of surface analysis techniques (XPS, ToF-SIMS and LEIS), for 304L, the results show a deep oxide scale with multi layers and the outer layer is composed of chromium and manganese oxides. Oxide profiles differ in air or steam atmosphere. Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} oxide is observed but in minor proportion and in all cases no nickel is detected near the surface. Results obtained are discussed and compared with the literature data.

yellowish color appeared constituted mainly by Ca (CaCO3) that was cover by other layer of grey colour performed by S and Ca (gypsum). A red layer performed with iron oxides was also found between the two layers. Sodium chloride was also found in some cross-sections. These data showed that the wall was covered by a acrylic resin. Black crust produced by environmental contamination and formed before and after the last restoration has been found. Gypsum and mortars has been added to cover volumetric lagoons for losses of pieces or were used to fix fragments of stones. A layer of lime on the surface attributed to a wall painting was also detected. This information has been used for the restoration of the plateresque façade of the Seville City Hall.

The forms of phosphorus and silicon in the natural grain sizes surface sediments of the southern Bohai Sea were studied. In sediments, the organic matter bound form of phosphorus was the main form of transferable phosphorus and ranged from 0.37 ,μmol/g to 1.57 μmol/g, accounting for 10.7 % of the total phosphorus, others were the carbonate bound form, iron-manganese oxide bound form and ion-exchange able form; the transferable form of phosphorus accounted for 19.2% of the total phosphorus. Silicon' s carbonate bound form was predominant over others among its transferable forms, and content ranged from t. 55 μmol/g to 8.94 μmol/g, accounting for 0.05 % of the total silicon; the total amount of transferable silicon forms accounted for only 0.12% of the total silicon. Therefore, 19.2 % of the total phosphorus and 0.12 % of the total silicon contained in the surface sediments of the southern Bohai Sea could participate in the biogeochemical cycling.

This paper investigates the use of the inverse first-order reliability method (inverse- FORM) to quantify the uncertainty in the remaining useful life (RUL) of aerospace components. The prediction of remaining useful life is an integral part of system health prognosis, and directly helps in online health monitoring and decision-making. However, the prediction of remaining useful life is affected by several sources of uncertainty, and therefore it is necessary to quantify the uncertainty in the remaining useful life prediction. While system parameter uncertainty and physical variability can be easily included in inverse-FORM, this paper extends the methodology to include: (1) future loading uncertainty, (2) process noise; and (3) uncertainty in the state estimate. The inverse-FORM method has been used in this paper to (1) quickly obtain probability bounds on the remaining useful life prediction; and (2) calculate the entire probability distribution of remaining useful life prediction, and the results are verified against Monte Carlo sampling. The proposed methodology is illustrated using a numerical example.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is used to investigate the oxidation states of molybdenum in thin films formed potentiostatically, over a range of potentials, in either 1 mol dm{sup -3} H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} or 10 mol dm{sup -3} NaOH at 20 Degree-Sign C. Mo 3d spectra suggested that MoO{sub 2} and Mo(OH){sub 2} were the main components of the films, with smaller amounts of MoO{sub 3} and possibly Mo{sub 2}O{sub 5}. O 1s spectra indicated the presence of oxygen as oxide and hydroxide species and as bound water. Ion beam analysis revealed the formation of thin films at all potentials, with significant losses of oxidized molybdenum to the electrolyte. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Oxides are formed on molybdenum in sulphuric acid and sodium hydroxide solutions. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Molybdenum IV and VI are identified by XPS, with MoO2 species dominating. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Thicknesses of films are determined by ion beam analysis for a range of potentials. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Films form at low efficiency due to loss of molybdenum species to electrolyte.

The surface wettability of the native Si oxide surfaces were tuned by chemical adsorption of 1,3,5,7-tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (TMCTS) molecules through thermal CVD method at different temperature. Water contact angle measurements revealed that the water contact angles of the TMCTS-modified Si oxide surfaces at the temperature of 333-373 K were found to be in the range of 92 ± 2-102 ± 2°. The advancing and receding water contact angle of the surface prepared at 333 K were found to be 97 ± 2/92 ± 2°, showing low contact angle hysteresis surface. The water contact angles of the surfaces prepared at the temperature of 373-413 K increased with an increase in the treatment temperature. When the treatment temperature was more than 423 K, the water contact angles of TMCTS-modified surfaces were found to become more than 150°, showing superhydrophobic surface. AFM study revealed that the surface roughness of the TMCTS-modified surface increased with an increase in the treatment temperature. This geometric morphology enhanced the surface hydrophobicity. The surface roughness could be fabricated due to the hydrolysis/condensation reactions in the gas phase during CVD process. The effect of the treatment temperature on the reactivity of the TMCTS molecules were also investigated using a thermogravimetric analyzer.

of the accumulation rate of SVOCs on surfaces were similar to those in studies of organic film buildup on indoor windows. Transfer of skin oils by touching the glass or foil surfaces, or after washing the glass surface with detergent and bare hands, was also observed, with measured particle production comparable...

We have investigated surface spin wave states in one-dimensional planar bi-component magnonic crystals, localized on the surfaces resulting from the breaking of the periodic structure. The two systems have been considered: the magnonic crystal with periodic changes of the anisotropy field in exchange regime and the magnonic crystal composed of Fe and Ni stripes in dipolar regime with exchange interactions included. We chose the symmetric unit cell for both systems to implement the symmetry related criteria for existence of the surfacestates. We investigated also the surfacestates induced by the presence of perturbation of the surface areas of the magnonic crystals. We showed, that the system with modulated anisotropy is a direct analog of the electronic crystal. Therefore, the surfacestates in both systems have the same properties. For surfacestates existing in magnonic crystals in dipolar regime we demonstrated that spin waves preserve distinct differences to the electronic crystals, which are due to lon...

Using first-principles calculations we show that face-centered cubic Dy(111) ultrathin films exhibit height selective stability. The origin of such height selection can be attributed to the interplay between the localized surfacestates and surface resonance states due to electron confinement effects. Such effect could be utilized to manipulate the film thickness at the atomic level to achieve desirable film properties or to control the growth of nanostructures on the thin film for various applications.

This paper is devoted to the asymptotics of the density of surfacicstates near the spectral edges for a discrete surfacic Anderson model. Two types of spectral edges have to be considered: fluctuating edges and stable edges. Each type has its own type of asymptotics. In the case of fluctuating edges, one obtains Lifshitz tails the parameters of which are given by the initial operator suitably 'reduced' to the surface. For stable edges, the surface density of states behaves like the surface density of states of a constant (equal to the expectation of the random potential) surface potential. Among the tools used to establish this are the asymptotics of the surface density of states for constant surface potentials.

We present results of first principle calculations of the Casimir force between Si films of nanometric size, which show that it depends significantly upon the configuration of the surface atoms, and give evidence of the importance of surfacestates.

Full Text Available The multistructurality and variety of organizational and economic forms of business pattern in agriculture are reasonably related and presented in the form of the individual and private, collective, state, and also mixed business. The individual and private type of small rural business is country farms and those personal farms, which have commodity or partially commodity character. Collective business in agro-industrial sector of the Republic of Bashkortostan is conducted on the basis of collective-share and cooperative property. All republic agricultural organizations belong to cattle breeding, cattle breeding grain, and grain cattle breeding types, at various combinations of other industries, traditional for the republic as additional. The cattle breeding of milk and meat direction is characterized for all zones of the Republic. Different organizational and economic forms of enterprises have various level of efficiency. The existing experience confirms higher efficiency of large-scale enterprises in comparison to small-scale that is determined by the economic law of production concentration (density, scale, that is economy of scale. There are also distinctions in indicators of farm efficiency. The purpose of the work is the proposal development on creation of the effective agriculture support mechanism. In preparing the study, the methods of statistical data analysis, material analysis of reports of some farms for 2006-2013, also their inspections, indicators of budget performance of the Republic, SWOT analysis of the institutional potential assessment of the internal and external factors influencing the agro-industrial complex strategy development are used. Scope of the results: system of state regulation and support of agro-industrial complex taking into account the business patterns existing in agriculture. Conclusions and main results of the analysis: 1. At the present time, various ways in agriculture, at the right choice of

Self-assembly of a molecule with many distinct conformational states, resulting in eight possible pairs of surface enantiomers, is investigated on a Au(111) surface under UHV conditions. The complex molecule is equipped with alkyl and carboxyl moieties to promote controlled self-assembly of lamel...

Highlights: • A duplex oxide film can be formed on the Welded 308L. • Surfacestate has no influence on the phase composition of the oxide film. • Surfacestate can affect the thickness of the oxide film. • Surfacestate can affect the morphology of the oxide film. - Abstract: The oxidation behavior of 308L weld metal (WM) with different surfacestate in the simulated nominal primary water of pressurized water reactor (PWR) was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyzer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). After 480 h immersion, a duplex oxide film composed of a Fe-rich outer layer (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}, Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and a small amount of NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}, Ni(OH){sub 2}, Cr(OH){sub 3} and (Ni, Fe)Cr{sub 2}O{sub 4}) and a Cr-rich inner layer (FeCr{sub 2}O{sub 4} and NiCr{sub 2}O{sub 4}) can be formed on the 308L WM samples with different surfacestate. The surfacestate has no influence on the phase composition of the oxide films but obviously affects the thickness of the oxide films and the morphology of the oxides (number & size). With increasing the density of dislocations and subgrain boundaries in the cold-worked superficial layer, the thickness of the oxide film, the number and size of the oxides decrease.

We describe the topological surfacestates of Bi4Se3, a compound in the infinitely adaptive Bi2-Bi2Se3 natural superlattice phase series, determined by a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. Two observable cleavage surfaces, terminating at Bi or Se, are characterized by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy, and modeled by ab initio density functional theory calculations. Topological surfacestates are observed on both surfaces, but with markedly different dispersions and Kramers point energies. Bi4Se3 therefore represents the only known compound with different topological states on differently terminated, easily distinguished and stable surfaces.

A helical surface relief can be created in an azo-polymer film simply by illuminating circularly polarized light with spin angular momentum and without any orbital angular momentum. The helicity of the surface relief is determined by the sign of the spin angular momentum. The illumination of circularly polarized light induces orbital motion of the azo-polymer to shape the helical surface relief as an intermediate form; a subsequent transformation to a non-helical bump-shaped relief with a central peak creates a final form with additional exposure time. The mechanism for the formation of such a helical surface relief was also theoretically analyzed using the formula for the optical radiation force in a homogeneous and isotropic material.

We consider nonlinear control systems of the so-called generalized triangular form (GTF) with time-varying and periodic dynamics which linearly depends on some external disturbances. Our purpose is to construct a feedback controller which provides the global input-to-state stability of the corresponding closed-loop w.r.t. the disturbances. To do this, we combine the method proposed in the earlier work \\cite{pavlichkov_ge_2009} devoted the the global asymptotic stabilization of the GTF systems without disturbances with the ISS theory for time-varying systems proposed in \\cite{wang}. Following this pattern we construct a feedback which provides the properties of uniform global stability and asymptotic gain w.r.t the disturbances. Then we obtain the semi-uniform ISS of the closed-loop system.

Photorefractive surface waves propagating in a stationary regime along the surface of the metal - photorefractive crystal (SBN-75) interface are considered. The transverse structure of the optical field distribution is calculated in the near- and far-field zones, depending on the angle of incidence of the exciting wave. The calculation results are in good agreement with the published experimental results. It is shown that the photorefractive effect leads to a splitting of the spectrum of a surface plasmon polariton excited at the metal - photorefractive crystal interface. (surface waves)

Described is a device having an anti-reflection surface. The device comprises a silicon substrate with a plurality of silicon spikes formed on the substrate. A first metallic layer is formed on the silicon spikes to form the anti-reflection surface. The device further includes an aperture that extends through the substrate. A second metallic layer is formed on the substrate. The second metallic layer includes a hole that is aligned with the aperture. A spacer is attached with the silicon substrate to provide a gap between an attached sensor apparatus. Therefore, operating as a Micro-sun sensor, light entering the hole passes through the aperture to be sensed by the sensor apparatus. Additionally, light reflected by the sensor apparatus toward the first side of the silicon substrate is absorbed by the first metallic layer and silicon spikes and is thereby prevented from being reflected back toward the sensor apparatus.

Described is a device having an anti-reflection surface. The device comprises a silicon substrate with a plurality of silicon spikes formed on the substrate. A first metallic layer is formed on the silicon spikes to form the anti-reflection surface. The device further includes an aperture that extends through the substrate. A second metallic layer is formed on the substrate. The second metallic layer includes a hole that is aligned with the aperture. A spacer is attached with the silicon substrate to provide a gap between an attached sensor apparatus. Therefore, operating as a Micro-sun sensor, light entering the hole passes through the aperture to be sensed by the sensor apparatus. Additionally, light reflected by the sensor apparatus toward the first side of the silicon substrate is absorbed by the first metallic layer and silicon spikes and is thereby prevented from being reflected back toward the sensor apparatus.

One-way quantum computation, also known as Cluster State Quantum Computation, provides a robust and efficient tool to perform universal quantum computation using only single-qubit projective measurements, given a highly entangled cluster state. The cluster-state approach to quantum computation also leads to certain practical advantages such as robustness against errors. In this paper, we propose a SAW-driven One-Way Quantum Computation approach that is realizable using a mentioned architecture and elements.

An analytic thermodynamic model has been established to quantitatively investigate the wetting states of droplets on nanopatterned surfaces. Based on the calculations for the free energies of droplets with the Wenzel state and the Cassie-Baxter state, it is found that the size and shape of nanostructured surfaces play crucial roles in wetting states. In detail, for nanohole-patterned surfaces, the deep and thin nanoholes lead to the Cassie-Baxter state, and contrarily, the shallow and thick nanoholes result in the Wenzel state. However, the droplets have the Wenzel state on the patterned surfaces with small height and radii nanopillars and have the Cassie-Baxter state when the height and radii of nanopillars are large. Furthermore, the intuitive phase diagrams of the wetting states of the droplet in the space of surface geometrical parameters are obtained. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental observations and reveal physical mechanisms involved in the effects of nanopatterned surfaces on wetting states, which implies that these studies may provide useful guidance to the conscious design of patterned surfaces to control the wetting states of droplets.

Surface of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers was modified by electrochemical oxidation. The modification effect on carbon fibers surface was explored using atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results showed that on the modified surface of carbon fibers, the carbon contents decreased by 9.7% and the oxygen and nitrogen contents increased by 53.8% and 7.5 times, respectively. The surface roughness and the hydroxyl and carbonyl contents also increased. The surface orientation index was reduced by 1.5%which decreased tensile strength of carbon fibers by 8.1%, and the microcrystalline dimension also decreased which increased the active sites of carbon fiber surface by 78%. The physical and chemical properties of carbon fibers surface were modified through the electrochemical oxidative method, which improved the cohesiveness between the fibers and resin matrix and increased the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of carbon fibers reinforced epoxy composite (CFRP) over 20%.

Solid-state transitions at the surface of pharmaceutical solid dosage forms (SDF) were monitored using multi-series hyperspectral imaging (HSI) along with Multivariate Curve Resolution – Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS) and Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC and PARAFAC2). First, the solid...... with polyvinylpyrrolidone using time series MIR-HSI. MCR-ALS properly resolved the known solid-stateforms of the drug in the pixels of the series MIR-images, while PARAFAC and PARAFAC2 failed to properly resolve all the drug forms in the series MIR-images due to i) strict trilinearity leak in the three-way array and ii......) the mandatory constant cross-product AkTAk over the k series MIR-images (A is the loadings of the shift mode), respectively. The highlighting of the advantages and limitation of the corresponding curve resolution methods stressed their potential applicability when handling multi-series HSI to study solid...

Whereas conical intersections between potential energy surfaces of bound states are well known, the interaction of short-lived states has been investigated only rarely. Here, we present several systematically constructed model Hamiltonians to study the topology of intersecting complex potential energy surfaces describing short-lived states: We find the general phenomenon of doubly intersecting complex energy surfaces, i.e., there are two points instead of one as in the case of bound states where the potential energy surfaces coalesce. In addition, seams of intersections of the respective real and imaginary parts of the potential energy surfaces emanate from these two points. Using the Sigma* and Pi* resonance states of the chloroethene anion as a practical example, we demonstrate that our complete linear model Hamiltonian is able to reproduce all phenomena found in explicitly calculated ab initio complex potential energy surfaces.

The Earth's Moon is thought to have formed by an impact between the Earth and an impactor around 4.5 billion years ago. This impact could have been so energetic that it could have mixed and homogenized the Earth's mantle. However, this view appears to be inconsistent with geochemical studies that suggest that the Earth's mantle was not mixed by the impact. Another plausible outcome is that this energetic impact melted the whole mantle, but the extent of mantle melting is not well understood even though it must have had a significant effect on the subsequent evolution of the Earth's interior and atmosphere. To understand the initial state of the Earth's mantle, we perform giant impact simulations using smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) for three different models: (a) standard: a Mars-sized impactor hits the proto-Earth, (b) fast-spinning Earth: a small impactor hits a rapidly rotating proto-Earth, and (c) sub-Earths: two half Earth-sized planets collide. We use two types of equations of state (MgSiO3 liqui...

The development of next-generation electronics is much dependent on the discovery of materials with exceptional surface-state spin and valley properties. Because of that, bismuth has attracted a renewed interest in recent years. However, despite extensive studies, the intrinsic electronic transport properties of Bi surfaces are largely undetermined due to the strong interference from the bulk. Here we report the unambiguous determination of the surface-state Landau levels in Bi (111) ultrathin films using scanning tunnelling microscopy under magnetic fields perpendicular to the surface. The Landau levels of the electron-like and the hole-like carriers are accurately characterized and well described by the band structure of the Bi (111) surface from density functional theory calculations. Some specific surface spin states with a large g-factor are identified. Our findings shed light on the exploiting surface-state properties of Bi for their applications in spintronics and valleytronics.

. The technique, which has been developed, is based on an electrochemical treatment changing the topography of the stainless steel surface. Comparative testing of the new surface topographies in ironing and deep drawing of stainless steel sheet shows significant improvements and possibilities of replacing...... chlorinated paraffin oils with environmentally friendly, plain mineral oil....

. The technique, which has been developed, is based on an electrochemical treatment changing the topography of the stainless steel surface. Comparative testing of the new surface topographies in ironing and deep drawing of stainless steel sheet shows significant improvements and possibilities of replacing...... chlorinated paraffin oils with environmentally friendly plain mineral oil...

Diffusion layers produced on carbon steel surface in vacuum titanizing process were investigated. Studies of layers thickness, their morphology, titanium, carbon and iron concentration depth profiles in the diffusion zone of titanized layers were carried out. The effect of process parameters such as time and temperature on the kinetics of layer growth on steel surface was investigated. Tribocorrosion resistance of titanized layers was determined.

Saponins are natural surfactants with non-trivial surface and aggregation properties which find numerous important applications in several areas (food, pharma, cosmetic and others). In the current paper we study the surface properties of ten saponin extracts, having different molecular structure

Surface patterns over multiple length scales are known to influence various biological processes. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of new, two-component xerogel thin films derived from carboxyethylsilanetriol (COE) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveals films surface with branched and hyper branched architectures that are ∼2 to 30 μm in diameter, that extend ∼3 to 1300 nm above the film base plane with surface densities that range from 2 to 77% surface area coverage. Colocalized AFM and Raman spectroscopy show that these branched structures are COE-rich domains, which are slightly stiffer (as shown from phase AFM imaging) and exhibit lower capacitive force in comparison with film base plane. Raman mapping reveals there are also discrete domains (≤300 nm in diameter) that are rich in COE dimers and densified TEOS, which do not appear to correspond with any surface structure seen by AFM.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A surface-mounted instrumentation system for measuring rotor blade motions on rotorcraft, for use both in flight and in wind tunnel testing, is proposed for...

A chemical kinetic rate model for the deposition of titanium nitride films from the surface reaction of tetrakis(dimethyl-amido)titanium (TDMAT) was developed. Without ammonia addition, TDMAT forms a titanium nitride film by pyrolyzing on the hot substrate surface. Experimental data from the applied materials 5000 deposition tool was modeled using a CSTR formulation. With the parameters of the surface reaction model regressed to fit portions of the experimental results, reasonably accurate model predictions over the entire domain of experimental data were obtained.

Full Text Available The surface degradation of metals in boiler tubes and turbines in high-temperature corrosive environments causes severe problems in fuel combustion power plant systems. High-temperature resistant materials have been recently developed using a thermal barrier coating (TBC and high-chromium alloys. Oxide films or coatings formed on metal surfaces at high temperatures can sometimes decrease the corrosion rate. However, the damage to the material is often accelerated by the mechanical removal of corrosion products from the material surface. It is therefore very important to investigate the mechanical and adhesive properties of the oxide films or coatings on metal surfaces used in high-temperature environments. This paper introduces a tribological method that uses a single spherical projectile impact at high temperature to measure the mechanical and adhesive properties of oxide films formed on various metal surfaces. Impact tests were performed on the surfaces of oxide films after their growth in a high-temperature furnace, and the deformed or fractured surfaces were observed in order to measure the mechanical and adhesive properties. The mechanical and adhesive properties of an elastic modulus, fracture, and exfoliation stresses were measured using the impact method, and the results depended on the type of metal oxide films and on the high-temperature environment.

The laser processes of oxidation are currently known and used extensively, in particular, to improve corrosion resistance of metals possessing certain properties and composition. In this regard, actuality is the methods of laser oxidation of metals and the determination of their modes of treatment in each specific case. Increase of corrosion resistance ST20 can carried out with the formation on the surface oxide films, as well as by reducing surface roughness. Studied various modes of processing of the steel surface. Corrosion resistance investigated for protecting a metal. Defocusing the beam to allow the surface treatment of a wide beam in the low temperature mode of processing. For further study of the irradiated surface on the corrosion resistance was conducted by chemical treatment in acid. Estimated phase composition of films formed under laser treatment simulated in the program astics. The study to increase the corrosion resistance of steel and titanium, have shown that under the chosen methods of processing of materials degradation observed.

Direct laser fabrication (DLF) allows solids with complex geometry to be produced by sintering metal powder particles in a focused laser beam. In this study, 10 Ti6Al4V alloy model dental root implants were obtained by DLF, and surface characterization was carried out using stereo scanning electron microscopy to produce 3D reconstructions. The surfaces were extremely irregular, with approximately 100 microm deep, narrow intercommunicating crevices, shallow depressions and deep, rounded pits of widely variable shape and size, showing ample scope for interlocking with the host bone. Roughness parameters were as follows: R(t), 360.8 microm; R(z), 358.4 microm; R(a), 67.4 microm; and R(q), 78.0 microm. Disc specimens produced by DLF with an identically prepared surface were used for biocompatibility studies with rat calvarial osteoblasts: After 9 days, cells had attached and spread on the DLF surface, spanning across the crevices, and voids. Cell density was similar to that on a commercial rough microtextured surface but lower than on commercial smooth machined and smooth-textured grit-blasted, acid-etched surfaces. Human fibrin clot extension on the DLF surface was slightly improved by inorganic acid etching to increase the microroughness. With further refinements, DLF could be an economical means of manufacturing implants from titanium alloys.

The oxide layer formed on the surface of a grain oriented silicon steel was characterized by SEM and EDS. 3% Si steel substrates were coated by two types of slurries: one formed by MgO and water and other formed by MgO, water and SrSO4. The ceramic films were evaluated by SEM, EDS and X-ray diffraction. Depth profiles of Fe, Si and Mg were obtained by GDS. The magnetic core losses (at 1.7 Tesla, 60 Hz) of the coated steel samples were evaluated as well. The use of MgO containing strontium red...

The present paper reports a determination of the potential energy surface for the electronic ground state of the hydrogen selenide molecule through a direct least-squares fitting to experimental data using the MORBID (Morse oscillator rigid bender internal dynamics) approach developed by P. Jensen [ J. Mol. Spectrosc.128, 478-501 (1988); J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 284, 1315-1340 (1988)]. We have fitted a selection of 303 rotation-vibration energy spacings of H 280Se, D 280Se, and HD 80Se involving J ≤ 5 with a root-mean-square deviation of 0.0975 cm -1 for the rotational energy spacings and 0.268 cm -1 for the vibrational spacings. In the fitting, 14 parameters were varied. On the basis of the fitted potential surface we have studied the cluster effect in the vibrational ground state of H 2Se, i.e., the formation of nearly degenerate, four-member groups of rotational energy levels [see I. N. Kozin, S. Klee, P. Jensen, O. L. Polyansky, and I. M. Pavlichenkov. J. Mol. Spectrosc., 158, 409-422 (1993), and references therein]. The cluster formation becomes more pronounced with increasing J. For example, four-fold clusters formed in the vibrational ground state of H 280Se at J = 40 are degenerate to within a few MHz. Our predictions of the D 280Se energy spectrum show that for this molecule, the cluster formation is displaced towards higher J values than arc found for H 280Se. In the vibrational ground state, the qualitative deviation from the usual rigid rotor picture starts at J = 12 for H 280Se and at J = 18 for D 280Se, in full agreement with predictions from semiclassical theory. An interpretation of the cluster eigenstates is discussed.

In arid and semi-arid areas, with mean annual precipitation of 70-200 mm, the dominant component of the ground cover is biocrusts composed of cyanobacteria, moss and lichens. Biocrusts play a role in stabilizing the soil surface, which reduces erosion by water and wind. Human disturbances, such as heavy vehicular traffic, earthworks, overgrazing and land mining destroy the soil surface and promote erosion. The aim of the study was to evaluate restoration of the soil surface by the return of a biocrust layer. We examined the impact of disturbances on the creation of a stable crust and on the rate of recovery. Biocrust disturbance was studied in two sites in the northern Negev. The nine treatments included different rates of biocrust inoculum application and NPK fertilization. Recovery rates of the biocrusts were monitored for five years using chemical, physical and bio-physiological tests which determined infiltration rate, soil surface resistance to pressure, shear force of the soil surface, levels of chlorophyll, organic matter and polysaccharide, NDVI and aggregate stability. The results show that untreated disturbed biocrusts present long-term damage and a very slow rate of recovery, which may take decades, while most of the treatments showed a faster recovery. In particular, NDVI, polysaccharide levels and aggregate stability showed steady improvements over the research period.

In this study, we analyze the general canal surfaces in terms of the features flat, II-flat minimality and II-minimality, namely we study under which conditions the first and second Gauss and mean curvature vanishes, i.e. K=0, H=0, K_{II}=0 and H_{II} =0. We give a non-existence result for general canal surfaces in E^3 with vanishing the curvatures K, H, K_{II} and H_{II} except the cylinder and cone.We classify the general canal surfaces for which are degenerate according to their radiuses. Finally we obtain that there are no flat, minimal, II-flat and II-minimal general canal surfaces in the Euclidean 3-space such that the center curve has non-zero curvatures.

The self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of imidazoline (IM) on the iron surface were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and scanning electrochemical microscopy(SECM). The results showed that SAMs were an effective inhibition film for iron.

Full Text Available The paper presents the results of research on the study of the possibility of accumulation of the lubricating layer coating on the surface of the separation process of foundry equipment with high pressure die casting aluminum alloys.

Here we report a facile method for the preparation of a PEO113-b-P4VP93 brush on gold surface with a grafting density as high as 1.32 chains/nm2; the P4VP blocks were physically adsorbed on gold surfaceforming an inner layer while the PEO blocks stretched towards the solution forming PEO brush. PEOl13-b-P4VPq3 micelles with P4VP core and PEO shell formed in methanol/water mixed solvents were used as the precursor. By adsorbing PEOII3-b-P4VP93 micelles from pure water, in which the density of the micelles is the largest, maximum amount of the micelles was adsorbed onto gold surface, and the adsorbed micelles existed as individual domains on the surface To prepare the polymer brush with a density as high as possible, we annealed the adsorbed micelles by metha- nol/water mixed solvent at the volume fraction of methanol （VF） of 20%, which was the proper proportion at which the core-forming P4VP chains began to be flexible but the integrity of the micelles was remained. At this volume fraction, almost all the adsorbed micelles originally existing as individual domains were transformed into a dense polymer brush.

We have studied the effect of normal forces and shear forces on the stability and functionality of a polymer brush layer formed upon adsorption of polymeric micelles on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. The micelles consist of oppositely charged polyelectrolyte blocks (poly(acrylic acid) and pol

We apply the Automated Multimode Inversion of surface and S-wave forms to a large global data set, verify the accuracy of the method and assumptions behind it, and compute an Sv-velocity model of the upper mantle (crust–660 km). The model is constrained with ~51 000 seismograms recorded at 368

An adsorption kinetics model for adsorbate on the specularly polished silicon wafer was suggested. The mathematical model of preferential adsorption and the mechanism controlling the adsorption state of adsorbate were discussed.

Analytical expressions for the flow field as well as for the effective slip length of a shear flow over a surface with periodic rectangular grooves are derived. The primary fluid is in the Cassie state with the grooves being filled with a secondary immiscible fluid. The coupling of both fluids is reflected in a locally varying slip distribution along the fluid-fluid interface, which models the effect of the secondary fluid on the outer flow. The obtained closed-form analytical expressions for the flow field and effective slip length of the primary fluid explicitly contain the influence of the viscosities of the two fluids as well as the magnitude of the local slip, which is a function of the surface geometry. They agree well with results from numerical computations of the full geometry. The analytical expressions allow investigating the influence of the viscous stresses inside the secondary fluid for arbitrary geometries of the rectangular grooves. For classic superhydrophobic surfaces, the deviations in the ...

Surface-textured Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films formed using two new techniques based on magnetron sputtering deposition were developed by optimizing the light scattering properties to be suitable for transparent electrode applications in thin-film silicon solar cells. Scrambled egg-like surface-textured AZO films were prepared using a new texture formation technique that post-etched pyramidal surface-textured AZO films prepared under deposition conditions suppressing c-axis orientation. In addition, double surface-textured AZO films were prepared using another new texture formation technique that completely removed, by post-etching, the pyramidal surface-textured AZO films previously prepared onto the initially deposited low resistivity AZO films; simultaneously, the surface of the low resistivity films was slightly etched. However, the obtained very high haze value in the range from the near ultraviolet to visible light in the scrambled egg-like surface-textured AZO films did not contribute significantly to the obtainable photovoltaic properties in the solar cells fabricated using the films. Significant light scattering properties as well as a low sheet resistance could be achieved in the double surface-textured AZO films. In addition, a significant improvement of external quantum efficiency in the range from the near ultraviolet to visible light was achieved in superstrate-type n-i-p μc-Si:H solar cells fabricated using a double surface-textured AZO film prepared under optimized conditions as the transparent electrode. - Highlights: • Double surface-textured AZO films prepared using a new texture formation technique • Extensive light scattering properties with low sheet resistance achieved in the double surface-textured AZO films • Improved external quantum efficiency of μc-Si:H solar cells using a double surface-textured AZO film.

The effect in the drawbead simulator test were evaluated for a set of commercially coated steels and a set of laboratory coated steels with underlying surfaces produced by laser textured, shot blast, and electro-discharge textured rolls. In general, surfaces with higher roughness (R{sub a} parameter) measured lower friction in the DBS tests. The requisite roughness amplitude necessary for low friction was moderated somewhat by having a more closely spaced roughness as described by the median wavelength, {lambda}m, of the power spectrum. This effect is due to interaction with the lubricant by the micro-roughness imparted by the galvanizing process. The lubricant tends to be retained better by the surfaces with the micro-roughness, thereby increasing the amount of elasto- and plasto-hydrodynamic support of the load. Other variables, such as large variations in thickness of the sheet can mask the effect of the surface by changing the actual distance of sliding contact during the DBS test. For tests where the amount of sliding is similar, the effect of roughness is significant. The friction measured for EG steels in the DBS test is dominated by deformation of the surface with plowing by the asperities of the tooling adding to that caused by the deformation. The size of the plow marks in the deformed surfaces corresponds to the roughness of the tooling and no significant evidence of wear particles was observed.

A brief survey is given of theoretical works on surfacestates (SSs) in Dirac materials. Within the formalism of envelope wave functions and boundary conditions for these functions, a minimal model is formulated that analytically describes surface and edge states of various (topological and nontopological) types in several systems with Dirac fermions (DFs). The applicability conditions of this model are discussed.

We have investigated the transport properties of surfacestate electrons on thin quench-condensed hydrogen films for various electron densities. The surfacestate electron mobility showed a continuous dependence on the plasma parameter Gamma in the range from 20 to 130, indicating a strong influence

An interconnect is disclosed with enhanced immunity of electrical conductivity to defects. The interconnect includes a material with charge carriers having topological surfacestates. Also disclosed is a method for fabricating such interconnects. Also disclosed is an integrated circuit including such interconnects. Also disclosed is a gated electronic device including a material with charge carriers having topological surfacestates.

An interconnect is disclosed with enhanced immunity of electrical conductivity to defects. The interconnect includes a material with charge carriers having topological surfacestates. Also disclosed is a method for fabricating such interconnects. Also disclosed is an integrated circuit including such interconnects. Also disclosed is a gated electronic device including a material with charge carriers having topological surfacestates.

The phase formation in the laser irradiation area from xAl2O3-yTiO2 compacts and the properties of the surface layer have been investigated by the XRD, IR, and SEM methods. Main phases precipitating from eutectic melt are tialite, corundum, and rutile. A high temperature on the surface of specimens leads to the development of dissociation processes of these compounds and molecules of the gaseous medium. As dissociation products fly apart and pass through different temperature zone, there are formed different metal oxides, metal hydroxides, and thermolysis products. When these different oxides are deposited on the surface of the ceramic, they form layers with different adhesion degrees.

We investigate the ionization of large-l multiply charged Rydberg ions approaching solid surfaces within the framework of decay model and applying the etalon equation method. The radial coordinate rho of the active electron is treated as a variational parameter and therefore the parabolic symmetry is preserved in this procedure. The complex eigenenergies are calculated from which the energy terms and the ionization rates are derived. We find that the large-l Rydberg states decay at approximately the same ion-surface distances as the low-l states oriented toward the vacuum and considerably closer to the surface comparing to the low-l states oriented towards the surface.

chemical form) is present as fully dissolved species. Most of this plutonium would seem to be of weapons fallout origin, as the mean Pu-238/Pu-239,Pu-240 activity ratio in the water column (dissolved phase) at Thule (0.06 +/- 0.02; n = 10) is similar to the global fallout ratio at this latitude......The speciation of plutonium in Arctic waters sampled on the northwest Greenland shelf in August 1997 is discussed in this paper. Specifically, we report the results of analyses carried out on seawater sampled (a) close to the Thule air base where, in 1968, a US military aircraft carrying four......(V, VI) (mean, 68 +/- 6%; n = 6), with little if any distinction apparent between surface and bottom waters. Further, the oxidation state distribution at stations close to the accident site is similar to that measured at Upernavik, remote from this site. It is also similar to the distribution observed...

Alloy 690TT samples with four kinds of surfacestates were prepared: 1) ground to 400 grit; 2) ground to 1500 grit; 3) mechanically polished (MP) and 4) electro-polished (EP). The surface morphologies and the surface skin layers' microstructures of these samples were characterized systematically using various methods and the effects of surfacestates on the oxidation behaviours of Alloy 690TT were also discussed. The results showed that surface roughness and micro-hardness decreased gradually from the ground to EP surfaces. The grains in the near-surface layers of the ground and MP surfaces had been refined and the residual strains were also very high. The dislocations on the ground surfaces were mainly parallel dislocation lines. The thickness of the superficial cold-worked layers decreased gradually from the ground surfaces to polished surfaces. The oxide morphologies and oxidation rate depended greatly on the surfacestates of samples. Cold-working by grinding treatments could benefit the outward diffusion of metallic atoms and the nucleation of surface oxides and then accelerate the growth of surface oxide films.

Magnesium ions, which exist in formation water and injection water under downhole conditions in the oil and gas production industry, are a key determinant in the CaCO3 scale formation. Many studies have focused their attention on the effect of magnesium on the kinetics, the morphology and the content of Mg in the CaCOs scale. Little attention has been paid to the effect of Mg2+ on the initial stages of CaCO3 formation on a metal surface. In this study, an electrochemical technique was used to study the influence of Mg2+ on the initial stages of CaCO3 scale formed on a metal surface. With this electrochemical technique, the reduction of the dissolved oxygen in an analysis solution is considered on the surface of a rotating disk electrode (RDE) under potentiostatic control. The rate of oxygen reduction on the surface of the RDE enables the extent of surface coverage of scale to be assessed. With this electrochemical technique, a new insight into the effect of Mg2+ on CaCO3 scale formed on a metal surface is given.

Graphite powder was adopted to prevent AZ91D alloy from oxidizing during melting and casting. The microstructure of the resultant surface films, formed at 933 K, 973 K, 1013 K, and 1053 K (660 °C, 700 °C, 740 °C, and 780 °C) for 30 minutes, was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometer, and X-ray diffraction, and the phase composition of the surface films was analyzed by the standard Gibbs free energy change of the reactions between the graphite powder, the alloy melt, and the ambient atmosphere. The effect and mechanism of melt temperature on the resultant surface films were also discussed. The results indicated that the surface films, of which the surface morphology comprised folds and wrinkles, were composed of a protective layer and MgF2 particles. The protective layer was contributive to the prevention of the molten alloy from oxidizing, and consisted of magnesium, oxygen, fluorine, carbon, and a small amount of aluminium existing in the form of MgO, MgF2, C, and MgAl2O4. The layer thickness was 200 to 900 nm. The melt temperature may affect the surface films through the increased interaction between the graphite powder, the melt, and the ambient atmosphere. The oxygen content and thickness of the protective layer decreased and then increased, while the height of the folds increased with melt temperature.

Methods of treating nanocrystal and/or quantum dot devices are described. The methods include contacting the nanocrystals and/or quantum dots with a solution including metal ions and halogen ions, such that the solution displaces native ligands present on the surface of the nanocrystals and/or quantum dots via ligand exchange.

In an attempt to regain function and aesthetics in the craniofacial region, different biomaterials, including titanium, hydroxyapatite, biodegradable polymers and composites, have been widely used as a result of the loss of craniofacial bone. Although these materials presented favorable success rates, osseointegration and antibacterial properties are often hard to achieve. Although bone-implant interactions are highly dependent on the implant's surface characteristics, infections following traumatic craniofacial injuries are common. As such, poor osseointegration and infections are two of the many causes of implant failure. Further, as increasingly complex dental repairs are attempted, the likelihood of infection in these implants has also been on the rise. For these reasons, the treatment of craniofacial bone defects and dental repairs for long-term success remains a challenge. Various approaches to reduce the rate of infection and improve osseointegration have been investigated. Furthermore, recent and planned tissue engineering developments are aimed at improving the implants' physical and biological properties by improving their surfaces in order to develop craniofacial bone substitutes that will restore, maintain and improve tissue function. In this review, the commonly used biomaterials for craniofacial bone restoration and dental repair, as well as surface modification techniques, antibacterial surfaces and coatings are discussed.

The synaptic vesicle protein synaptotagminⅠ (sytⅠ) is a vesicle trans membrane protein present in synaptic vesicles, which has been proposed as the Ca 2+ sensor that regulates secretion. The C2A domain is the membrane proximal part of its cytoplasmic domain. The interaction between C2A and lipid bilayer has be en considered to be essential for triggering neurotransmitter release. In the pr esent work, the measurements of membrane surface tension and surface concentrati on showed that the C2A domain of sytⅠexhibited two membrane-bound states: the s urface adsorption state and the membrane insertion state. The surface absorption stateformed in a Ca2+-independent manner with lower affinity, while the membra ne insertion stateformed with high affinity was only found in the presence of C a2+. Both the Ca2+-independent and Ca2+-dependent sytⅠ- membrane interactions r equired anionic phospholipids, such as phosphatidylserine (PS). When expressed i nto rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells and human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cells , as demonstrated by immunofluorescence staining and subcellular fractionation, most of the C2A was found at the plasma membrane, even when the cells were deple ted of Ca2+ by incubation with EGTA. These results suggested a new molecular mec hanism of sytⅠas a Ca2+ sensor in membrane fusion. Ca2+-independent surface ads orption might attach sytⅠto the release site during the docking or priming step . When intracellular Ca2+ increased, sytⅠtriggered the neurotransmitter release following the Ca2+-dependent penetration into the target membrane.

In this study, the amorphization of glipizide was systematically investigated through high-energy ball milling at different temperatures. The results of solid-state amorphization through milling indicated that glipizide underwent direct crystal-to-glass transformation at 15 and 25°C and crystal-to-glass-to-crystal conversion at 35°C; hence, milling time and temperature had significant effects on the amorphization of glipizide, which should be effectively controlled to obtain totally amorphous glipizide. Solid forms of glipizide were detailedly characterized through analyses of X-ray powder diffraction, morphology, thermal curves, vibrational spectra, and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance. The physical stability of solid forms was investigated under different levels of relative humidity (RH) at 25°C. Forms I and III are kinetically stable and do not form any new solid-stateforms at various RH levels. By contrast, Form II is kinetically unstable, undergoing direct glass-to-crystal transformation when RH levels higher than 32.8%. Therefore, stability investigation indicated that Form II should be stored under relatively dry conditions to prevent rapid crystallization. High temperatures can also induce the solid-state transformation of Form II; the conversion rate increased with increasing temperature.

The aim of the present study is to produce and characterize a well-controlled surface texture on Ti-35Nb-xHf alloys to promote osseointegration. Ti-35Nb-xHf (x = 0, 3, 7 and 15 wt.%) alloys were prepared by arc melting and heat treated for 12 hr at 1000 degrees C in an argon atmosphere and then water quenching. For surface texturing, an amplified Ti: sapphire laser system was used for generating 184 femtosecond (FS, 10(-15) sec) laser pulses with the pulse energy over 30 mJ at a 1 kHz repetition rate with a central wavelength of 800 nm. The nanotube formation was achieved by anodizing a Ti-35Nb-xHf alloy in H3PO4 electrolytes containing 0.8 wt.% NaF at room temperature. The surface morphology of nano/micro structure will enhance osseointegration and cell adhesion.

Direct synthesis of three-dimensional Ag structures on solid substrates for the purposes of producing reproducible and recyclable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) applications remains challenging. In this work, flower-like Ag structures with concave surfaces (FACS) were successfully electrodeposited onto ITO glass using the double-potentiostatic method. The FACS, with an enhancement factor of the order of 108, exhibited a SERS signal intensity 3.3 times stronger than that measured from Ag nanostructures without concave surfaces. A cleaning procedure involving lengthy immersion of the sample in ethanol and KNO3 was proposed to recycle the substrate and confirmed by using rhodamine 6G, adenine, and 4-aminothiophenol as target molecules. The findings can help to advance the practical applications of Ag nanostructure-based SERS substrates.

In this paper, the analysis of vibrations on surface roughness generated during boring with the application of the conventional boring tool and one with the damper is presented. The experiments included the measurement of vibration accelerations carried out with the piezoelectric sensor, as well as the evaluation of surface roughness parameters after each machining pass. The obtained results reveal that in the investigated range, no stability loss was found. Furthermore, the growth of the rotational speed induces the increase of vibration level, as well as the growth of the differences between the vibration values generated during boring with the conventional tool and one equipped with damper. Vibrations have also the direct influence on the machined surface roughness. In case of the tool equipped with the damper, the tool's overhang L had more intense influence than rotational speed n. However, for the conventional boring tool this dependency was unequivocal.

Surface modification of rutile TiO2 with extremely small SnO2 clusters gives rise to a great increase in its UV light activity for degradation of model organic water pollutants, while the effect is much smaller for anatase TiO2. This crystal form sensitivity is rationalized in terms of the difference in the electronic modification of TiO2 through the interfacial Sn−O−Ti bonds. The increase in the density of states near the conduction band minimum of rutile by hybridization with the SnO2 clust...

We have studied the effect of reducing the implantation energy towards low keV values on the areal density of He and H atoms stored within populations of blister cavities formed by co-implantation of the same fluence of He then H ions into Si(001) wafers and annealing. Using a variety of experimental techniques, we have measured blister heights and depth from the surface, diameter, areal density of the cracks from which they originate as functions of implantation energy and fluence. We show that there is a direct correlation between the diameters of the cracks and the heights of the associated blisters. This correlation only depends on the implantation energy, i.e., only on the depth at which the cracks are located. Using finite element method modeling, we infer the pressure inside the blister cavities from the elastic deformations they generate, i.e., from the height of the blisters. From this, we demonstrate that the gas pressure within a blister only depends on the diameter of the associated crack and not on its depth position and derive an analytical expression relating these parameters. Relating the pressure inside a blister to the respective concentrations of gas molecules it contains, we deduce the areal densities of He and H atoms contained within the populations of blisters. After low-energy implantations (8 keV He{sup +}, 3 keV H{sup +}), all the implanted He and H atoms contribute to the formation of the blisters. There is no measurable exo-diffusion of any of the implanted gases, in contrast to what was assumed at the state of the art to explain the failure of the Smart-Cut technology when using very low energy ion implantation for the fabrication of ultra-thin layers. Alternative explanations must be investigated.

We have studied the effect of reducing the implantation energy towards low keV values on the areal density of He and H atoms stored within populations of blister cavities formed by co-implantation of the same fluence of He then H ions into Si(001) wafers and annealing. Using a variety of experimental techniques, we have measured blister heights and depth from the surface, diameter, areal density of the cracks from which they originate as functions of implantation energy and fluence. We show that there is a direct correlation between the diameters of the cracks and the heights of the associated blisters. This correlation only depends on the implantation energy, i.e., only on the depth at which the cracks are located. Using finite element method modeling, we infer the pressure inside the blister cavities from the elastic deformations they generate, i.e., from the height of the blisters. From this, we demonstrate that the gas pressure within a blister only depends on the diameter of the associated crack and not on its depth position and derive an analytical expression relating these parameters. Relating the pressure inside a blister to the respective concentrations of gas molecules it contains, we deduce the areal densities of He and H atoms contained within the populations of blisters. After low-energy implantations (8 keV He+, 3 keV H+), all the implanted He and H atoms contribute to the formation of the blisters. There is no measurable exo-diffusion of any of the implanted gases, in contrast to what was assumed at the state of the art to explain the failure of the Smart-Cut technology when using very low energy ion implantation for the fabrication of ultra-thin layers. Alternative explanations must be investigated.

Full Text Available The article presents a methodology of an analysis and modeling of technological systems and the grinding process of conical-like helical surfaces with the use of modern CAD/CAE systems and calculations in the Matlab system. The methodology developed allows one to carry out simulation tests for the accuracy of the grinding process of helical surfaces taking into consideration the deviations of the location and shape of the system’s elements, axial and radial striking the spindle of the workpiece machined and the grinding wheel as well as the tool’s geometrical features.

This two-volume work covers ultrafast structural and electronic dynamics of elementary processes at solid surfaces and interfaces, presenting the current status of photoinduced processes. Providing valuable introductory information for newcomers to this booming field of research, it investigates concepts and experiments, femtosecond and attosecond time-resolved methods, as well as frequency domain techniques.The whole is rounded off by a look at future developments.

Surface electronic properties of the promising Li-ion cathode materials such as LiMo{sub 2} (Ni, Co, Mn) and LiFePO{sub 4} as well as evolution of electrolyte-cathode interfaces formed after contact to the electrolyte, due to electrochemical charging and after cycling were systematically studied using conventional electronic spectroscopy methods (XPS, UPS) and synchrotron photoelectron spectroscopy (SXPS, XAS). To study fundamental surface properties of the oxides we investigated both thin film cathodes in-situ, where the surfaces are not contaminated by impurities, and synthesized powder cathodes used in industry. (orig.)

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in an alkaline solution was carried out using Ag powders having various particle morphologies and surface chemical states (Size: ca. 40-110 nm in crystalline size. Shape: spherical, worm like, and angular. Surface: smooth with easily reduced AgOx, defective with AgOx, and Ag2CO3 surface layer). The various Ag powders were well characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N2 adsorption, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and stripping voltammetry of underpotential-deposited lead. Defective and oxidized surfaces enhanced the Ag active surface area during the ORR. The ORR activity was affected by the morphology and surface chemical state: Ag particles with defective and angular surfaces showed smaller electron exchange number between three and four but showed higher specific activity compared to Ag particles with smooth surfaces.

Cities exhibit unique spatial patterns, and thus a distinctive heterogeneity. At different scales of influence, they introduce changes in the physical properties of the natural environment, as the diffusion of impervious surfaces. While climate change is expected to increase the frequency of hazard

In various domains ranging from catalysis to medical and environmental sciences, there is currently much focus on the design of surfaces that present active compounds at the interface with their environments. Here, we describe the design of "active surfaces" based on solid-supported monolayers of asymmetric triblock copolymers, which serve as templates for the attachment of enzymes. A group of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(γ-methyl-ε-caprolactone)-block-poly[(2-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate] amphiphilic copolymers, with different hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains (PEG45-b-PMCLx-b-PDMAEMAy) was selected to generate solid-supported polymer membranes. The behavior of the copolymers in terms of their molecular arrangements at the air-water interface was established by a combination of Langmuir isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy. Uniform thin layers of copolymers were obtained by transferring films onto silica solid supports at optimal surface pressure. These solid-supported polymer membranes were characterized by assessing various properties, such as monolayer thickness, hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance, topography, and roughness. Laccase, used as an enzyme model, was successfully attached to copolymer membranes by stable interactions as followed by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation measurements, and its activity was preserved, as indicated by activity assays. The interaction between the amphiphilic triblock copolymer films and immobilized enzymes represents a straightforward approach to engineer "active surfaces", with biomolecules playing the active role by their intrinsic bioactivity.

Cities exhibit unique spatial patterns, and thus a distinctive heterogeneity. At different scales of influence, they introduce changes in the physical properties of the natural environment, as the diffusion of impervious surfaces. While climate change is expected to increase the frequency of hazards

Integration of an array of Ag nanoparticles in solar cells is expected to increase light trapping through field enhancement and plasmonic scattering. Requirement of Ag nanoparticle decoration of cell surfaces or interfaces at the macro-scale, calls for a self-organized fabrication method such as the

Summary Particle lithography offers generic capabilities for the high-throughput fabrication of nanopatterns from organosilane self-assembled monolayers, which offers the opportunity to study surface-based chemical reactions at the molecular level. Nanopatterns of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) were prepared on surfaces of Si(111) using designed protocols of particle lithography combined with either vapor deposition, immersion, or contact printing. Changing the physical approaches for applying molecules to masked surfaces produced OTS nanostructures with different shapes and heights. Ring nanostructures, nanodots and uncovered pores of OTS were prepared using three protocols, with OTS surface coverage ranging from 10% to 85%. Thickness measurements from AFM cursor profiles were used to evaluate the orientation and density of the OTS nanostructures. Differences in the thickness and morphology of the OTS nanostructures are disclosed based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. Images of OTS nanostructures prepared on Si(111) that were generated by the different approaches provide insight into the self-assembly mechanism of OTS, and particularly into the role of water and solvents in hydrolysis and silanation. PMID:22428102

Research on memory for native language (L1) has consistently shown that retention of surfaceform is inferior to that of gist (e.g., Sachs, 1967). This paper investigates whether the same pattern is found in memory for non-native language (L2). We apply a model of bilingual word processing to more complex linguistic structures and predict that memory for L2 sentences ought to contain more surface information than L1 sentences. Native and non-native speakers of English were tested on a set of sentence pairs with different surfaceforms but the same meaning (e.g., "The bullet hit/struck the bull's eye"). Memory for these sentences was assessed with a cued recall procedure. Responses showed that native and non-native speakers did not differ in the accuracy of gist-based recall but that non-native speakers outperformed native speakers in the retention of surfaceform. The results suggest that L2 processing involves more intensive encoding of lexical level information than L1 processing.

A new water soluble surface film-forming material was developed and its effect on reducing ammonia volatilization from an alkaline solution was investigated in laboratory,Results showed that the new film formed by the material was not only more effective in reducing ammonia loss than any other films tested but also much cheaper.The optimum amount of addition of the new film-forming material was about 10times the theoretical amount to form a monomolecular film.Under the experimental conditions,the new film could effectively depress the ammonia volatilization for at least 6 days.The cumulative ammonia loss rates for different films were fitted to a simple logistic equation ,and some important parameters such as the cumulative loss,and the maximum and average volatilization rates were calculated.The effect of different films could be,therefore,compared quantitatively,indicating the new film was most effective in depressing ammonia volatilization.

The aim of this study was to determine the capacity of biofilm formation of atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) strains on abiotic and biotic surfaces. Ninety-one aEPEC strains, isolated from feces of children with diarrhea, were analyzed by the crystal violet (CV) assay on an abiotic surface after 24 h of incubation. aEPEC strains representing each HEp-2 cell type of adherence were analyzed after 24 h and 6, 12, and 18 days of incubation at 37°C on abiotic and cell surfaces by CFU/cm2 counting and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces occurred in 55 (60.4%) of the aEPEC strains. There was no significant difference in biofilm biomass formation on an abiotic versus prefixed cell surface. The biofilms could be visualized by CLSM at various developmental stages. aEPEC strains are able to form biofilm on an abiotic surface with no association with their adherence pattern on HEp-2 cells with the exception of the strains expressing UND (undetermined adherence). This study revealed the capacity of adhesion and biofilm formation by aEPEC strains on abiotic and biotic surfaces, possibly playing a role in pathogenesis, mainly in cases of persistent diarrhea. PMID:24883330

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the capacity of biofilm formation of atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC strains on abiotic and biotic surfaces. Ninety-one aEPEC strains, isolated from feces of children with diarrhea, were analyzed by the crystal violet (CV assay on an abiotic surface after 24 h of incubation. aEPEC strains representing each HEp-2 cell type of adherence were analyzed after 24 h and 6, 12, and 18 days of incubation at 37°C on abiotic and cell surfaces by CFU/cm2 counting and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM. Biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces occurred in 55 (60.4% of the aEPEC strains. There was no significant difference in biofilm biomass formation on an abiotic versus prefixed cell surface. The biofilms could be visualized by CLSM at various developmental stages. aEPEC strains are able to form biofilm on an abiotic surface with no association with their adherence pattern on HEp-2 cells with the exception of the strains expressing UND (undetermined adherence. This study revealed the capacity of adhesion and biofilm formation by aEPEC strains on abiotic and biotic surfaces, possibly playing a role in pathogenesis, mainly in cases of persistent diarrhea.

Fe-based metallic glass forming powders have been deposited on mild steel substrates using high power laser cladding. Coatings microstructures have been analysed by scanning- and transmission-electron microscopy and at varying substrate dilutions, have been found to comprise a 100 to 500 nm interden

diameters and thermal histories. The bulk structural features in both compositions of glass fibers were identified using high-resolution 29Si, 27Al, and 11B magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopic measurements. In multi-component glasses, the determination of silicon, aluminum, and boron distributions becomes difficult due to the competitive nature of the network-modifying oxides among the network-forming oxides. In pure silicates, 29Si MAS NMR can often resolve resonances arising from silicate tetrahedron having varying numbers of bridging oxygens. In aluminoborosilicate glasses, aluminum is present in four-, five-, and six- coordination with oxygen as neighbors. The speciation of the aluminum can be determined using 27Al MAS NMR. The fraction of tetrahedral boron species in the glass fibers were measured using 11B MAS NMR, which is typically used to study the short-range structure of borate containing glasses such as alkali borate, borosilicate, and aluminoborosilicate glasses. While solid-state NMR is a powerful tool for elucidating bonding environments and coordination changes in the glass structure, it cannot quantitatively probe low to moderate surface area samples due to insufficient spins. Chemical probes either physisorbed or chemisorbed to the fiber's surface can increase the surface selectivity of NMR for analysis of samples with low surface areas and provide information about the local molecular structure of the reactive surface site. Common chemical probe molecules contain NMR active nuclei such as 19F or may be enriched with 13C. A silyating agent, (3,3,3-trifluoropropyl)dimethylchlorosilane (TFS), reacts with reactive surface hydroxyls, which can be quantified by utilizing the NMR active nucleus (19F) contained in the probe molecule. The observed 19F MAS NMR peak area is integrated and compared against a standard of known fluorine spins (concentration), allowing the number of reactive hydroxyl sites to be quantified. IGC is a method used to study the

A topological insulator (TI) is a quantum material in a new class with attractive properties for physical and technological applications. Here we derive the electronic structure of highly crystalline Sb2Te2Se single crystals studied with angle-resolved photoemission spectra. The result of band mapping reveals that the Sb2Te2Se compound behaves as a p-type semiconductor and has an isolated Dirac cone of a topological surfacestate, which is highly favored for spintronic and thermoelectric devices because of the dissipation-less surfacestate and the decreased scattering from bulk bands. More importantly, the topological surfacestate and doping level in Sb2Te2Se are difficult to alter for a cleaved surface exposed to air; the robustness of the topological surfacestate defined in our data indicates that this Sb2Te2Se compound has a great potential for future atmospheric applications.

The 5-axis NC machining offers the potential of efficient and accurate machining. However, the present CAM system for 5-axis control is still an unsolved problem due to interference between tool and surrounding objects. A new method is presented. There are two steps in this procedure. First, it detects the interference by calculating the shortest distance between the tool-axis and the surrounding surfaces. Then upon the maximum gouging, the interference-free tool posture for 5-axis NC cylindrical milling free-formsurfaces is obtained by adjusting tool. The validity of the proposed method has been confirmed by machining an impeller.

The semimetal-superconductor quantum phase transition on the two-dimensional (2D) surface of a 3D topological insulator is conjectured to exhibit an emergent $\\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry, based on a renormalization group (RG) analysis at one-loop order in the $\\epsilon$ expansion. We provide additional support for this conjecture by performing a three-loop RG analysis and showing that the supersymmetric fixed point found at this order survives the extrapolation to 2D. We compute critical exponents to order $\\epsilon^3$, obtaining the more accurate value $\

Contrary to the historical data, several recent experiments indicate that the surface tension of supercooled water follows a smooth extrapolation of the IAPWS equation in the supercooled regime. It can be seen, however, that a small deviation from the IAPWS equation is present in the recent experimental measurements. It is shown with simulations using the WAIL water potential that the small deviation in the experimental data is consistent with the tail of an exponential growth in surface tension as temperature decreases. The emergence temperature, Te, of a substantial deviation from the IAPWS equation is shown to be 227 K for the WAIL water and 235 K for real water. Since the 227 K Te is close to the Widom line in WAIL water, we argue that real water at 235 K approaches a similar crossover line at one atmospheric pressure.

We derive results on the distribution of directions of saddle connections on translation surfaces using only the Birkhoff ergodic theorem applied to the geodesic flow on the moduli space of translation surfaces. Our techniques, together with an approximation argument, also give an alternative proof of a weak version of a classical theorem in multi-dimensional Diophantine approximation due to Schmidt (1960 Can. J. Math. 12 619-31, 1964 Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 110 493-518). The approximation argument allows us to deduce the Birkhoff genericity of almost all lattices in a certain submanifold of the space of unimodular lattices from the Birkhoff genericity of almost all lattices in the whole space and similarly for the space of affine unimodular lattices.

[Abridged] We present deep optical and near-infrared UBVRIHKs imaging data for 24 blue compact galaxies (BCGs). The sample contains luminous dwarf and intermediate-mass BCGs which are predominantly metal-poor, although a few have near-solar metallicities. We have analyzed isophotal and elliptical integration surface brightness and color profiles, extremely deep (mu_B<29 mag arcsec^{-2}) contour maps and RGB images for each galaxy in the sample. The colors are compared to different spectral evolutionary models. We detect extremely extended low surface brightness (LSB) components dominant beyond the Holmberg radius as well as optical bridges between companion galaxies at the mu_V~28th mag arcsec^{-2} isophotal level. The central surface brightness mu_0 and scale length h_r are derived from two radial ranges typically assumed to be dominated by the underlying host galaxy. We find that mu_0 and h_r of the BCGs host deviate from those of dwarf ellipticals (dE) and dwarf irregulars (dI) solely due to a strong bu...

In order to improve the computer design of product shape design,applying the Non-uniform Rational B-splines(NURBS) of curves and surfacessurface to the representation of the product shape helps designers to design the product effectively.On the basis of the typical product image contour extraction and using Pro/Engineer(Pro/E) to extract the geometric feature of scanning mold,in order to structure the information data base system of value point,control point and node vector parameter information,this paper put forward a unified expression method of using NURBS curves and surfaces to describe products’ geometric shape and using matrix laboratory(MATLAB) to simulate when products have the same or similar function.A case study of electric vehicle’s front cover illustrates the access process of geometric shape information of case product in this paper.This method can not only greatly reduce the capacity of information debate,but also improve the effectiveness of computer aided geometric innovation modeling.

Gapless surfacestates on topological insulators are protected from elastic scattering on nonmagnetic impurities, which makes them promising candidates for low-power electronic applications. However, for widespread applications, these states should remain coherent and significantly spin polarized at ambient temperatures. Here, we studied the coherence and spin structure of the topological states on the surface of a model topological insulator, Bi2Se3, at elevated temperatures in spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. We found an extremely weak broadening and essentially no decay of spin polarization of the topological surfacestate up to room temperature. Our results demonstrate that the topological states on surfaces of topological insulators could serve as a basis for room-temperature electronic devices.

We describe the conceptual method of an autonomously operable Direct Forming machine that would consume regolith or regolith slag to mold intimately, interlinked elements in a continuous process. The resulting product, one to three meter wide geomats, would be deployed over commonly traversed areas to isolate the astronauts and equipment from underlying dust. The porous geotextile would provide areas for dust settling, thereby mitigating dust impingement on astronaut suits or surface structures. Because of their self-supporting yet flexible structure, these geomats could be assembled into shields and buttresses to protect lunar habitants from radiation, forming a "flexoskeleton" from in situ materials.

A novel single-step surface-treatment process is demonstrated for forming Cr-nitride coatings on steels. The process was carried out at 1327 K (1100 °C) for two steel grades with differing carbon concentrations. For steel grade with 0.42 to 0.5C (wt pct), the coatings formed consisted of an outer Cr2N layer and an inner Cr-carbide layer with a Cr-enriched interdiffusion zone underneath. However, for steel grade with C ≤ 0.17 wt pct, the inner Cr-carbide layer was absent.

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false DOS form DS-4053... Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF STATE CLAUSES AND FORMSFORMS Prescription of Forms 653.219-71 DOS form DS-4053, Department of State Mentor-Protégé Program Application. As prescribed in 619.102-70(i), DS-4053...

Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) phenomenon of the insulating polyaniline (PANI) is has been observed. Surface Plasmon (SP) is the traveled electromagnetic wave that passes through the interface of dielectric metal and excited by attenuated total reflection (ATR) method in Kretschmannn configuration (Au-PANI prism). The resonance condition is observed through the angle of SPR in such condition that SP wave is coupled by the evanescent constant of laser beam. In this research, the laser beam was generated by He–Ne and its wavelength (λ) was 632,8 nm. SPR curve is obtained through observation of incidence angles of the laser beam in prism. SPR phenomenon at the boundary between Au – PANI layer has showed by reflection dip when the laser beam passes through the prism. In this early study, the observation was carried out through simulation Winspall 3.02 software and preliminary compared with some experimental data reported in other referred literatures. The results shows that the optimum layer of Au and polyaniline are 50 and 1,5 nm thick respectively. Our own near future experimental work would be further performed and reported elsewhere.

In this study, we develop and apply a mapping estimation capability for key unknown parameters that link the surface water and energy balance equations. The method is applied to the Gourma region in West Africa. The accuracy of the estimation method at point scale was previously examined using flux tower data. In this study, the capability is scaled to be applicable with remotely sensed data products and hence allow mapping. Parameters of the system are estimated through a process that links atmospheric forcing (precipitation and incident radiation), surfacestates, and unknown parameters. Based on conditional averaging of land surface temperature and moisture states, respectively, a single objective function is posed that measures moisture and temperature-dependent errors solely in terms of observed forcings and surfacestates. This objective function is minimized with respect to parameters to identify evapotranspiration and drainage models and estimate water and energy balance flux components. The uncertainty of the estimated parameters (and associated statistical confidence limits) is obtained through the inverse of Hessian of the objective function, which is an approximation of the covariance matrix. This calibration-free method is applied to the mesoscale region of Gourma in West Africa using multiplatform remote sensing data. The retrievals are verified against tower-flux field site data and physiographic characteristics of the region. The focus is to find the functional form of the evaporative fraction dependence on soil moisture, a key closure function for surface and subsurface heat and moisture dynamics, using remote sensing data.

Concentrating solar power systems currently have a high capital cost when compared with other energy generating systems. The solar energy is captured in the form of thermal energy rather than directly electrical, which is attractive as thermal energy is easier and currently cheaper to store in large amounts. It is also used directly as processing heat including desalination and water purification. For the technology to compete against other generating systems it is important to...

Owing to the superior physico-chemical properties, the low density polyethylene (LDPE) has been widely used in the various industrial applications; especially in biomedical field for artificial organs, medical devices and disposable clinical apparatus. However, the poor anticoagulation property is one of the main drawbacks of the LDPE due to its poor surface properties. Therefore, in this paper we present the effect of plasma forming gases such as argon (Ar), oxygen (O{sub 2}), air and argon-oxygen (Ar + O{sub 2}) mixture on improvement of the surfaces properties of LDPE film using direct current (dc) excited glow discharge plasma. Contact angle with evaluation of surface energy, X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques were used to examine the change in surface properties such as hydrophilicity, chemical composition and surface topography, respectively. Furthermore, the hydrophobic recovery of the plasma treated LDPE was analyzed using ageing effect under different storage condition i.e. in air and water. The adhesive strength of the LDPE films was determined using T-peel test. In vitro tests were used to examine the blood compatibility of the surface modified LDPE films. It has been found that the hydrophilicity of the various plasma treated LDPE films was improved significantly due to the formation of oxygen containing polar groups such as OH, COO, C-O, C=O as confirmed by contact angle and XPS analysis. AFM revealed the changes in surface topography of plasma processed films. The gas mixture Ar + O{sub 2} plasma influenced the remarkable improvement on the surface properties of a LDPE film compared with other gaseous plasmas. These physiochemical changes induced by the plasma on the surface facilitate to improve the adhesive strength and blood compatibility.

An article includes a silicon-containing region; at least one outer layer overlying a surface of the silicon-containing region; and a constituent layer on the surface of the silicon-containing region and between and contacting the silicon-containing region and the at least one outer layer, the constituent layer being formed by constituents of the silicon-containing region and being susceptible to creep within an operating environment of the article, wherein the silicon-containing region defines a plurality of channels and a plurality of ridges that interlock within the plurality of channels are formed in the silicon-containing region to physically interlock the at least one outer layer with the silicon-containing region through the constituent layer.

Catalytically active MnOx species have been reported to form in situ from various Mn-complexes during electrocatalytic and solution-based water oxidation when employing cerium(IV) ammonium ammonium nitrate (CAN) oxidant as a sacrificial reagent. The full structural characterization of these oxides may be complicated by the presence of support material and lack of a pure bulk phase. For the first time, we show that highly active MnOx catalysts form without supports in situ under photocatalytic conditions. Our most active (4)MnOx catalyst (∼0.84 mmol O2 mol Mn(-1) s(-1)) forms from a Mn4O4 bearing a metal-organic framework. (4)MnOx is characterized by pair distribution function analysis (PDF), Raman spectroscopy, and HR-TEM as a disordered, layered Mn-oxide with high surface area (216 m(2) g(-1)) and small regions of crystallinity and layer flexibility. In contrast, the (S)MnOx formed from Mn(2+) salt gives an amorphous species of lower surface area (80 m(2) g(-1)) and lower activity (∼0.15 mmol O2 mol Mn(-1) s(-1)). We compare these catalysts to crystalline hexagonal birnessite, which activates under the same conditions. Full deconvolution of the XPS Mn2p3/2 core levels detects enriched Mn(3+) and Mn(2+) content on the surfaces, which indicates possible disproportionation/comproportionation surface equilibria.

Hydrogen sulfide producing bacteria (SPB) in raw animal by-products are likely to grow and form biofilms in the rendering processing environments, resulting in the release of harmful hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas. The objective of this study was to reduce SPB biofilms formed on different surfaces typically found in rendering plants by applying a bacteriophage cocktail. Using a 96-well microplate method, we determined that 3 SPB strains of Citrobacter freundii and Hafnia alvei are strong biofilm formers. Application of 9 bacteriophages (10(7) PFU/mL) from families of Siphoviridae and Myoviridae resulted in a 33%-70% reduction of biofilm formation by each SPB strain. On stainless steel and plastic templates, phage treatment (10(8) PFU/mL) reduced the attached cells of a mixed SPB culture (no biofilm) by 2.3 and 2.7 log CFU/cm(2) within 6 h at 30 °C, respectively, as compared with 2 and 1.5 log CFU/cm(2) reductions of SPB biofilms within 6 h at 30 °C. Phage treatment was also applied to indigenous SPB biofilms formed on the environmental surface, stainless steel, high-density polyethylene plastic, and rubber templates in a rendering plant. With phage treatment (10(9) PFU/mL), SPB biofilms were reduced by 0.7-1.4, 0.3-0.6, and 0.2-0.6 log CFU/cm(2) in spring, summer, and fall trials, respectively. Our study demonstrated that bacteriophages could effectively reduce the selected SPB strains either attached to or in formed biofilms on various surfaces and could to some extent reduce the indigenous SPB biofilms on the surfaces in the rendering environment.

Plasmonic structured illumination microscopy (PSIM) is one of the promising wide filed optical imaging methods, which takes advantage of the surface plasmons to break the optical diffraction limit and thus to achieve a super-resolution optical image. To further improve the imaging resolution of PSIM, we propose in this work a so called graphene nanocavity on meta-surface structure (GNMS) to excite graphene surface plasmons with a deep sub-wavelength at mid-infrared waveband. It is found that surface plasmonic interference pattern with a period of around 52 nm can be achieved in graphene nanocavity formed on structured meta-surface for a 7 μm wavelength incident light. Moreover, the periodic plasmonic interference pattern can be tuned by simply changing the nanostructures fabricated on meta-surface for different application purposes. At last, the proposed GNMS structure is applied for super-resolution imaging in PSIM and it is found that an imaging resolution of 26 nm can be achieved, which is nearly 100 folds higher than that can be achieved by conventional epi-fluorescence microscopy. In comparison with visible waveband, mid-infrared is more gently and safe to biological cells and thus this work opens the new possibility for optical super-resolution imaging at mid-infrared waveband for biological research field.

On the surface of icy dust grains in the dense regions of the interstellar medium, a rich chemistry can take place. Due to the low temperature, reactions that proceed via a barrier can only take place through tunneling. The reaction {{H}}+{{{H}}}2{{{O}}}2\\longrightarrow {{{H}}}2{{O}}+{OH} is such a case with a gas-phase barrier of ∼26.5 kJ mol‑1. Still, the reaction is known to be involved in water formation on interstellar grains. Here, we investigate the influence of a water ice surface and of bulk ice on the reaction rate constant. Rate constants are calculated using instanton theory down to 74 K. The ice is taken into account via multiscale modeling, describing the reactants and the direct surrounding at the quantum mechanical level with density functional theory (DFT), while the rest of the ice is modeled on the molecular mechanical level with a force field. We find that H2O2 binding energies cannot be captured by a single value, but rather they depend on the number of hydrogen bonds with surface molecules. In highly amorphous surroundings, the binding site can block the routes of attack and impede the reaction. Furthermore, the activation energies do not correlate with the binding energies of the same sites. The unimolecular rate constants related to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism increase as the activation energy decreases. Thus, we provide a lower limit for the rate constant and argue that rate constants can have values up to two order of magnitude larger than this limit.

A new method for recovering shape from cross-sectional contours with complex branching structures is presented. First, each branching problem by providing an intermediate contour using distance function and image processing technology is solved. Then, all contours are divided into several groups of simple contours. For each group, a NURBS curve is fitted to contour points in each section within a given accuracy on a common knot vector. Finally, the NURBS surface skinning of these contours is performed for providing a smooth geometric model. The method is suitable to reproduce the object by NC machining or rapid prototyping. Some results demonstrate its usefulness and feasibility.

Full Text Available This paper is a brief review of our recent research into novel uses for heteropoly compounds as precursors for thin films that can be used as catalysts and materials with good optical, conductive and other characteristics. In view of this, we have chosen thin film obtained with 12-tungsphosphoric acid on aluminum substrates. In all cases, a relatively new, microarc oxidation technique has been used to prepare oxide coatings on substrate surfaces. Advanced physicochemical methods, AFM and SEM-EDS, XRD, Raman and Micro-Raman, and luminescence spectroscopy, as the most powerful techniques, have been used for the characterization of new materials. Possible applications have been discussed as well.

This paper presents a method of metal surface microstructuring by means of radiation of an impulse fiber laser with a scanning system, used for the displacement of the light beam. The topographic relief being presented was modeled in the graphics editor and then was manufactured on the experimental material. We also created a "parameter matrix", which allows to determine the optimal modes of operation of the laser system for treatment of a specific material. The paper describes three stages of the microstructuring process: profiling, cleaning, and polishing, and the corresponding geometrical parameters of the structures manufactured. A method for decreasing the level of relief roughness (for Ra and Rz) was developed.

Full Text Available Questions of studying the formation of surface and ground waters, their interaction with rocks, development of the basics of their rational use and protection are of great fundamental and practical importance. The influence of the northern Fennoscandian (Baltic Shield rock composition on formingsurface waters' chemical composition in the border area of Finland – Russia – Norway (Lake Inari, the River Paz using physical-chemical modeling (Selector software package has been evaluated. For the physical-chemical modeling there have been made two samples of chemical analyses of the most widespread rocks forming the catchment area, with their percentage ratio taken into consideration. Since the catchment area of the prevailing majority of streams feeding Lake Inari is composed of rocks of the Lapland granulite belt (LGB and its framing, it will be the main sample (conditional influence of their composition on the chemical composition of waters is about 80 %. The second sample includes gneisses, migmatites, granite-gneisses, granites and quartz diorites typical for Inari terrane (conventional influence of their composition on the chemical composition of waters is about 20 %. It has been found that the chemical composition of the surface waters is formed by interaction of precipitation with intrusive, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks of northern Fennoskandia containing Clarke concentrations of S, C, F, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cu. It has been shown that due to interactions in the water – rock system the chemical composition of Lake Inari waters as well as upper and middle flow of the River Paz is formed by weathering of granulites of the Lapland granulite belt and Inari terrane granitoids of the northern Fennoscandia. The chemical composition of waters in the River Paz downstream is formed by weathering of metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Pechenga structure and the impact of industrial pollution

Phosphorus (P) is the limiting factor for eutrophication in most freshwater ecosystems. In China, Ptransported from intensively cultivated land has been reported as an important source of P in surface waters.In this study, we investigated P concentration and forms in surface and subsurface drainage from wetland ricefields in the Shaoxing plain, Zhejiang Province, China. From selected rice fields, surface drainage sampleswere collected at rice-growing, non-growing and fertilization periods, and subsurface drainage samples atdrought and rewetting (irrigation or precipitation after 5～10 d drought period in the surface soils) and wet(drainage under long-term wet soil condition) periods. Water samples were characterized for their totalreactive P (TRP), dissolved reactive P (DRP) and particulate reactive P (PRP). Concentrations of the TRPand DRP in the surface drainage ranged from 0.08 to 1.50 and 0.06 to 1.27 mg L-1, respectively. The TRPand DRP were dependent on field operation activities, and decreased in the order of fertilization period ＞rice-growing period ＞ non-growing period. Phosphorus concentration of runoff receiving P fertilizer can bean environmental concern. The PRP concentration in the surface drainage, ranging from 0.01 to 0.57 mgL-1, accounted for 8%～78% of the TRP. Concentration of the TRP in the subsurface drainage was from0.026 to 0.090 mg L-1, consisting of 29%～90 % of the DRP and 10%～71% of the PRP. In the droughtand rewetting period, the PRP accounted for, on average, 63% of the TRP, much higher than in the wetperiod (23%), suggesting that there was transport of P in preferential flow during drainage events after ashort-term drought period in the surface soils. Therefore, P losses in particulate form may be importantin the subsurface drainage from rice fields when surface soils form cracks and favor rapid flow downwardthrough the soil profiles, suggesting the important role of water-dispersible colloid particles in mediating andco

Whole cell homogenates of Naegleria fowleri were examined by hemolytic and /sup 51/Cr-release assays for the presence of cytolytic molecules which may participate in the cytopathogenic action of this amoeba. Two distinct cytolytic activities were found. A surface membrane cytolysin was identified which was found to be avidly associated with membranes possessing an equilibrium density of 1.135 g/cm/sup 3/ in isopycnic sucrose gradients. The activity of the surface membrane cytolysin was not affected by heating at 75/sup 0/C for 30 min. The second cytolytic activity was found in putative lysosomes possessing an equilibrium density of 1.162 g/cm/sup 3/ and was completely inactivated by heating at 75/sup 0/C for 30 min. Cytolysis produced in the presence of both cytolysins was consistently synergistic with respect to the activity of either cytolysin alone. The lesions produced on erythrocytes by this cooperative process were characterized by electron microscopy as transmembrane pores resembling a number of other cytolytic effector molecules including the ninth component of complement, perforins of cytolytic T lymphocytes, and the alphatoxin of Staphylococcus aureus.

Populations of bacteria in biofilms from different sites of a drinking water production system were analysed. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyses revealed changing DNA band patterns, suggesting a population shift during bank filtration and processing at the waterworks. In addition, common DNA bands that were attributed to ubiquitous bacteria were found. Biofilms even developed directly after UV disinfection (1-2m distance). Their DNA band patterns only partly agreed with those of the biofilms from the downstream distribution system. Opportunistic pathogenic bacteria in biofilms were analysed using PCR and Southern blot hybridisation (SBH). Surface water appeared to have a direct influence on the composition of biofilms in the drinking water distribution system. In spite of preceding filtration and UV disinfection, opportunistic pathogens such as atypical mycobacteria and Legionella spp. were found in biofilms of drinking water, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was detected sporadically. Enterococci were not found in any biofilm. Bacterial cell counts in the biofilms from surface water to drinking water dropped significantly, and esterase and alanine-aminopeptidase activity decreased. beta-glucosidase activity was not found in the biofilms. Contrary to the results for planktonic bacteria, inhibitory effects were not observed in biofilms. This suggested an increased tolerance of biofilm bacteria against toxic compounds.

Semiconducting nanowires are expected to have applications in various areas as transistors, sensors, resonators, solar cells, and thermoelectric systems. Understanding the surface properties is crucial for the fabrication of high-performance devices. Due to the large surface-to-volume ratio of nanowires, their surface electronic properties, like surfacestates, can a have a large effect on the performance of both electronic and optoelectronic devices. At present, determination of the surfacestate density depends on a combination of experimental measurements of the capacitance and/or drain current, in a nanowire field-effect transistor, and a fitting to simulation. This technique follows certain assumptions, which can severely harm the accuracy of the extracted density of states. In this report, we demonstrate a direct measurement of the surfacestate density of individual InAs and silicon nanowires. The method is based on measuring the surface potential of a nanowire field-effect transistor, with respect to a changing gate bias. The extracted density of states at the surface helps to explain various electronic phenomena in such devices. (copyright 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

A comparative evaluation of natural patinas and those formed during acid rain laboratory tests was applied to predict patina stability in corrosive urban environments. SEM-EDX analyses of various statuary alloys after the laboratory tests distinguished areas of correlative intensity of attack and S percentage, depending on the alloy. Moreover, EDX and X-ray diffraction (XRD) determined the chemical composition of different coloured patina carefully scraped from a bronze monument, submitted to 75 years outdoors exposure. To analyse the electrochemical potential evolution with time the in situ Pourbaix technique was applied on the laboratory-exposed samples and over representative areas of the monument, at 2 years interval.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and automatic titrimeter were used to study the relation bewteen pH and the transformation of the coordinate forms of P on goethite surfaces.The results showed that for a given P concentration,increasing the pH of suspension could cause a fast transformation of monodentate complexes of phosphate ions on goethite surfaces to binuclear ones,When lowering the pH,additional adsorption of P occurred and the binuclear complexes reverted slowly to the monodentate ones,The dissociation and association of protons of the sorbed P caused by pH changes was considered to be a major reason leading to the transformation of the coordinate forms of P on the surfaces.The stability of binuclear surface complex of P was greater than that of monodentate omplex.The possible reactions on the interface of goethite and solutions with pH changes,and the reasons causing the different stabilities of the two coordinate P complexes are discussed in the paper.

We consider the problem of verifying the existence of $H^1$ ground states of the 1D nonlinear Schr\\"odinger equation for an interface of two periodic structures: $$-u" +V(x)u -\\lambda u = \\Gamma(x) |u|^{p-1}u \\ {on} \\R$$ with $V(x) = V_1(x), \\Gamma(x)=\\Gamma_1(x)$ for $x\\geq 0$ and $V(x) = V_2(x), \\Gamma(x)=\\Gamma_2(x)$ for $x1$. The article [T. Dohnal, M. Plum and W. Reichel, "Surface Gap Soliton Ground States for the Nonlinear Schr\\"odinger Equation," \\textit{Comm. Math. Phys.} \\textbf{308}, 511-542 (2011)] provides in the 1D case an existence criterion in the form of an integral inequality involving the linear potentials $V_{1},V_2$ and the Bloch waves of the operators $-\\tfrac{d^2}{dx^2}+V_{1,2}-\\lambda$. We choose here the classes of piecewise constant and piecewise linear potentials $V_{1,2}$ and check this criterion for a set of parameter values. In the piecewise constant case the Bloch waves are calculated explicitly and in the piecewise linear case verified enclosures of the Bloch waves are computed ...

Previously superhydrophobic surfaces have demonstrated effective drag reduction by trapping a lubricious gas layer on the surface with micron-sized hydrophobic features. However, prolonged reduction of drag is hindered by the dissolution of the gas into the surrounding water. This paper demonstrates a novel combination of superhydrophobic surface design and electrochemical control methods which allow quick determination of the wetted area and a gas replenishment mechanism to maintain the desirable gas filled state. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to measure the capacitance of the surface which is shown to be proportional to the solid/liquid interface area. To maintain a full gas coverage for prolonged periods the surface is held at an electrical potential which leads to hydrogen evolution. In the desired gas filled state the water does not touch the metallic area of the surface, however after gas has dissolved the water touches the metal which closes the electrochemical circuit causing hydrogen to be produced replenishing the gas in the surface and returning to the gas filled state; in this way the system is self-actuating. This type of surface and electrochemical control shows promise for applications where the gas filled state of superhydrophobic surfaces must be maintained when submerged for long periods of time.

The corresponding-states principle helps the understanding and calculating of thermodynamic, transport, and surface properties of substances in various states, required by our modern lifestyle. The Corresponding-States Principle and its Practice: Thermodynamic, Transport and Surface Properties of Fluids describes the origins and applications of the principle from a universal point of view with comparisons to experimental data where possible. It uses the universal theory to explain present theories. Emphasis is on the properties of pure systems, and the corresponding-states theory can also be e

Full Text Available The biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas fluorescens on AISI 304 stainless steel in the presence of reconstituted skim milk under different temperatures was conducted, and the potential of three chemical sanitizers in removing the mono-species biofilms formed was compared. Pseudomonas aeruginosa cultivated in skim milk at 28 °C presented better growth rate (10.4 log CFU.mL-1 when compared with 3.7 and 4.2 log CFU.mL-1 for P. aeruginosa and P. fluorescens cultivated at 7 °C, respectively. Pseudomonas aeruginosa formed biofilm when cultivated at 28 °C. However, only the adhesion of P. aeruginosa and P. fluorescens was observed when incubated at 7 °C. The sodium dichloroisocyanurate was the most efficient sanitizer in the reduction of the adhered P. aeruginosa cells at 7 and 28 °C and those on the biofilm, respectively. The hydrogen peroxide was more effective in the reduction of adhered cells of P. fluorescens at 7 °C.

Mining induced generally adverse effect to the environmental ecosystems. This paper studied the beneficial element Se produced in the process of coal mining and burning. The occurrence form of Se in soil and surface water influx into the mine water and the enrichment of Se by crops such as wheat, maize and rice were analyzed. The results indicated that organic and residual forms are the dominant forms of Se in soil, with the soluble form accounting for only 1%. Se4+ and Se6+ accounted for 23.89% and 32.99% in total soluble Se in soil, respectively. In the surface water influx into the mine water, the percentages were 37.78% and 40.24%, respectively. The mean contents of Se in wheat, maize and rice were 0.169 mg x kg(-1), 0.094 mg x kg(-1) and 0.26 mg x kg(-1), respectively. Rice was irrigated using the mine water, which did not only solve the problem of waste water, but also produced Se-enriched rice, moreover, the contents of deleterious elements were not high. Therefore, making full use of the Se-enriched resource in the mining area would weaken the adverse effect of mining.

Two metastable polymorphs of paracetamol (forms II and III) were prepared by appropriate thermal methods from binary mixtures containing 10% (w/w) of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose. By controlling the reheating step, it was possible to address the recrystallization of the drug either into form II or III. Moreover, it was observed that form III transforms either into form II or I depending on the preparation method. The physical characterization of the polymorphs was performed by means of micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (MFTIR) and powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD), both temperature controlled.

Full Text Available The oxide layer formed on the surface of a grain oriented silicon steel was characterized by SEM and EDS. 3% Si steel substrates were coated by two types of slurries: one formed by MgO and water and other formed by MgO, water and SrSO4. The ceramic films were evaluated by SEM, EDS and X-ray diffraction. Depth profiles of Fe, Si and Mg were obtained by GDS. The magnetic core losses (at 1.7 Tesla, 60 Hz of the coated steel samples were evaluated as well. The use of MgO containing strontium reduced the volume fraction of forsterite particles beneath the outermost ceramic layer. It was observed a reduced magnetic core loss with the use of the slurry with MgO containing strontium.

that it is the noble character of gold and nanoparticle surfaces that destabilizes Au(I)-thiolates. Bonding results from large van der Waals forces, influenced by covalent bonding induced through s-d hybridization and charge polarization effects that perturbatively mix in some Au(I)-thiolate character. A simple method......The synthetic chemistry and spectroscopy of sulfur-protected gold surfaces and nanoparticles is analyzed, indicating that the electronic structure of the interface is Au(0)-thiyl, with Au(I)-thiolates identified as high-energy excited surfacestates. Density-functional theory indicates...... for quantifying these contributions is presented, revealing that a driving force for nanoparticle growth is nobleization, minimizing Au(I)-thiolate involvement. Predictions that Brust-Schiffrin reactions involve thiolate anion intermediates are verified spectroscopically, establishing a key feature needed...

The composition layers, containing the metal nanoparticles, synthesized thorough implantation of the Ag sup + ions with the energy of 60 keV and the dose of 3 x 10 sup 1 sup 6 ion/cm sup 2 into the sodium-calcium silicate glass by the ion current of 3 mu A/cm sup 2 and the sublayer temperature of 35 deg C are studied. The obtained implantation results are analyzed in dependence on the temperature effects, developing for the glass samples of various thickness. The data on the silver distribution, the metal nanoparticles formation and growth by depth are obtained from the optical reflection spectra. It is demonstrated that minor changes in the surface temperature of the irradiated glass sublayer lead to noticeable diversities in the regularities of the nanoparticles formation in the sample volume

The fabrication of patterned arrays of nanoparticles whose electronic, optical and magnetic properties will find technological applications, such as ultra-high-density memories, is currently one of the most important objectives of inorganic material research. In this study, the in situ electroless nucleation of ordered two-dimensional arrays of gold nanoparticles (5 nm in size) by using bacterial S-layers as molecular templates and their characterization by small spot X-ray photoelectron emission spectroscopy (XPS) is presented. This yielded the elemental composition of the nanoclusters, which consisted of almost entirely elemental gold, and possible side reactions on the cluster and protein surface. The preferential deposition of the gold nanoparticles on the S-layer suggests that topography and functional groups are important for superlattice formation.

A water strider has a remarkable capability to stand and walk freely on water. Supporting forces of a water strider and a bionic robot have been calculated from the side view of pressed depth of legs to reconstruct the water surface dimples. However, in situ measurements of the multiple leg forces and significantly small leg/water contact dimples have not been realized yet. In this study, a shadow method was proposed to reconstruct the in situ three-dimensional topographies of leg/water contact dimples and their corresponding supporting forces. Results indicated that the supporting forces were affected by the depth, width, and length of the dimple, and that the maximum dimple depth was not proportional to the supporting forces. The shadow method also has advantages in disclosing tiny supporting force of legs in their subtle actions. These results are helpful for understanding the locomotion principles of water-walking insects and the design of biomimetic aquatic devices.

Full Text Available The interfacial properties between silicon and hafnium oxide (HfO2 are explored by the gated-diode method and the subthreshold measurement. The density of interface-trapped charges, the current induced by surface defect centers, the surface recombination velocity, and the surfacestate capture cross-section are obtained in this work. Among the interfacial properties, the surfacestate capture cross-section is approximately constant even if the postdeposition annealing condition is changed. This effective capture cross-section of surfacestates is about 2.4 × 10−15 cm2, which may be an inherent nature in the HfO2/Si interface.

The electronic structure of Sb(110) is studied by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and first-principles calculations, revealing several electronic surfacestates in the projected bulk band gaps around the Fermi energy. The dispersion of the states can be interpreted in terms of a strong...... spin-orbit splitting. The bulk band structure of Sb has the characteristics of a strong topological insulator with a Z2 invariant ν0 = 1. This puts constraints on the existence of metallic surfacestates and the expected topology of the surface Fermi contour. However, bulk Sb is a semimetal......, not an insulator, and these constraints are therefore partly relaxed. This relation of bulk topology and expected surface-state dispersion for semimetals is discussed....

The state of CO2 molecules adsorption on Fe (111) surface is studied by simulation with the software, the partial density of states the adsorption is obtained. Through the graphical distribution, the pseudogap and the partial density of states at the Fermi level of the CO2 molecules adsorption on the Fe (111) surface is analyzed and compared. The key mechanism of CO2 molecules adsorption on the Fe (111) surface is revealed. The results showed that the CO2 molecules adsorption on the bridge position of Fe (111) surface is stable. The main reason of O atom and Fe atom combining with the bonding is that the resonance of the density of states happed between the O 2p orbital and Fe 3d orbital.

Excited statesurfaces in density functional theory and the problem of charge transfer are considered from an orbital overlap perspective. For common density functional approximations, the accuracy of the surface will not be uniform if the spatial overlap between the occupied and virtual orbitals involved in the excitation has a strong conformational dependence; the excited statesurface will collapse toward the ground state in regions where the overlap is very low. This characteristic is used to predict and to provide insight into the breakdown of excited statesurfaces in the classic push-pull 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile molecule, as a function of twist angle. The breakdown is eliminated using a Coulomb-attenuated functional. Analogous situations will arise in many molecules.

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — This map layer contains impervious surface data for the conterminous United States, in an Albers Equal-Area Conic projection and at a resolution of 100 meters. The...

The forming and activation of the conductive films are studied experimentally. The power supply,a peak-to-peak 30 V triangle profile voltage,is applied to three kinds of conductive films that contain 0.25%,0.5%,and 1% of palladium respectively. In the experiments we contrasted the values of related parameter in different conditions,observed the lumi nous spots on the anode panel,dealt with and analyzed the related data,and compared the positions and the amount of the luminous spots. We have gotten the conclusion that there is a threshold value Uth. The emission current Ie will increase rapidly when the device voltage Uf is greater than Uth. And the emission current Ie could be controlled by the device voltage Uf.The positions of the luminous spots on the anode panel are related with the device voltage Uf.

Acylation of the N-terminal Cys residue is an essential, ubiquitous, and uniquely bacterial posttranslational modification that allows anchoring of proteins to the lipid membrane. In Gram-negative bacteria, acylation proceeds through three sequential steps requiring lipoprotein diacylglyceryltransferase, lipoprotein signal peptidase, and finally lipoprotein N-acyltransferase. The apparent lack of genes coding for recognizable homologs of lipoprotein N-acyltransferase in Gram-positive bacteria and Mollicutes suggests that the final step of the protein acylation process may be absent in these organisms. In this work, we monitored the acylation state of eight major lipoproteins of the mollicute Acholeplasma laidlawii using a combination of standard two-dimensional gel electrophoresis protein separation, blotting to nitrocellulose membranes, and MALDI-MS identification of modified N-terminal tryptic peptides. We show that for each A. laidlawii lipoprotein studied a third fatty acid in an amide linkage on the N-terminal Cys residue is present, whereas diacylated species were not detected. The result thus proves that A. laidlawii encodes a lipoprotein N-acyltransferase activity. We hypothesize that N-acyltransferases encoded by genes non-homologous to N-acyltransferases of Gram-negative bacteria are also present in other mollicutes and Gram-positive bacteria. PMID:21540185

The New York Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) has created a new 3-page blank form to be completed for all school district capital projects involving the construction of new special education space. The new form requires the signatures of the Superintendent of Schools, the District…

It has been recently shown (Mitra, 2000 - astro-ph/9910408) that the timelike spherical collapse of a radiating, physical fluid in General Relativity, as seen by an interior co-moving observer at rest in the physical fluid, does not permit formation of ``trapped surfaces''. This followed from the fact that the formation of a trapped surface in a physical fluid would cause the timelike world lines of the collapsing fluid to become null at the would be trapped surface, thus violating the Principle of Equivalence in General Theory of Relativity. In this paper we generalize and extend this result by studying the problem from the point of view of the exterior Vaidya metric of a collapsing radiating fluid as seen by an exterior stationary observer, and find that the "no trapped surface condition" becomes g00 > 0 consistent with that obtained for the interior co-moving metric. Since we have shown that the Principle of Equivalence prevents trapped surfaces from being formed in collapsing, radiating objects, then true...

Ab-initio calculations show a pressure induced trivial-nontrivial-trivial topological phase transition in the normal state of 1T-TiSe2. The pressure range in which the nontrivial phase emerges overlaps with that of the superconducting ground state. Thus, topological superconductivity can be induced in protected surfacestates by the proximity effect of superconducting bulk states. This kind of self-induced topological surface superconductivity is promising for a realization of Majorana fermions due to the absence of lattice and chemical potential mismatches. For appropriate electron doping, the formation of the topological superconducting surfacestate in 1T-TiSe 2 becomes accessible to experiments as it can be controlled by pressure.

A comprehensive understanding of spin-polarized photoemission is crucial for accessing the electronic structure of spin-orbit coupled materials. Yet, the impact of the final state in the photoemission process on the photoelectron spin has been difficult to assess in these systems. We present experiments for the spin-orbit split states in a Bi-Ag surface alloy showing that the alteration of the final state with energy may cause a complete reversal of the photoelectron spin polarization. We explain the effect on the basis of ab initio one-step photoemission theory and describe how it originates from linear dichroism in the angular distribution of photoelectrons. Our analysis shows that the modulated photoelectron spin polarization reflects the intrinsic spin density of the surfacestate being sampled differently depending on the final state, and it indicates linear dichroism as a natural probe of spin-orbit coupling at surfaces.

Surface topography and Moho are the most robust observables that have been insufficiently exploited for containing the rheological and thermal structure and hence for understanding the longevity and eventual destruction of cratons and "tectons". Craton longevity has been often explained by their buoyancy and analysed by testing gravitational stability of cratonic mantle "keels" as a function of the hypothesized plate thickness and thermo-rheological structure. Destruction of some cratons (e.g. North China) and data indicating little if no buoyancy of some tectons (e.g., Arabian shield) suggest that buoyancy is not the only factor of their stability, and previous studies show that their mechanical strength is as important as buoyancy. The upper bounds on this strength are provided by flexural studies demonstrating that Te values (equivalent elastic thickness) in cratons are highest in the world and may probably reach 150 km. Yet, the sensitivity of common methods is poor for Te values above 80 km while the lower bounds on the strength and the equivalent elastic thickness of cratons are still matter of debate. How this strength is partitioned between crust and mantle, and which set of rheological parameters pertain, remain major unknowns. We show that smooth low topography and "frozen" heterogeneous crustal structure of cratons represent the missing constraints for understanding of craton longevity. The cratonic crust is characterized by isostatically misbalanced density heterogeneities, suggesting that the lithosphere has to be strong enough to keep them "frozen" through the time without producing major gravitational instabilities and topographic undulations. Hence, to constrain thermo-rheological properties of cratons one should first investigate the stability of their topography and internal structure (constrained from seismic and gravity data). Our thermo-mechanical numerical experiments accounting for free surface boundary condition demonstrate that craton

Extremely high magnetoresistance (XMR) in the lanthanum monopnictides La X (X =Sb ,Bi ) has recently attracted interest in these compounds as candidate topological materials. However, their perfect electron-hole compensation provides an alternative explanation, so the possible role of topological surfacestates requires verification through direct observation. Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy data reveal multiple Dirac-like surfacestates near the Fermi level in both materials. Intriguingly, we have observed circular dichroism in both surface and near-surface bulk bands. Thus the spin-orbit-coupling-induced orbital and spin angular momentum textures may provide a mechanism to forbid backscattering in zero field, suggesting that surface and near-surface bulk bands may contribute strongly to XMR in La X . The extremely simple rocksalt structure of these materials and the ease with which high-quality crystals can be prepared suggest that they may be an ideal platform for further investigation of topological matter.

We investigate the influence of slab thickness on the electronic structure of the Si(1 0 0)- p([Formula: see text]) surface in density functional theory (DFT) calculations, considering both density of states and band structure. Our calculations, with slab thicknesses of up to 78 atomic layers, reveal that the slab thickness profoundly affects the surface band structure, particularly the dangling bond states of the silicon dimers near the Fermi level. We find that, to precisely reproduce the surface bands, the slab thickness needs to be large enough to completely converge the bulk bands in the slab. In the case of the Si(1 0 0) surface, the dispersion features of the surface bands, such as the band shape and width, converge when the slab thickness is larger than 30 layers. Complete convergence of both the surface and bulk bands in the slab is only achieved when the slab thickness is greater than 60 layers.

Full Text Available Katia M’Bailara1, Donatienne Van den Bulke2, Nicolas Demazeau2, Jacques Demotes-Mainard3, Chantal Henry11EA4139 Laboratoire de psychologie, Université Victor Segalen, Bordeaux Cedex, France; 2Centre Hospitalier Charles Perrens, Bordeaux Cedex, France; 3INSERM-DRCT, ECRIN, Paris, FranceBackground: A high proportion of unipolar and bipolar type II patients can present a depressive mixed state (DMX. This state is defined by an association of a major depressive episode with at least two specific hypomanic symptoms. This state seems underdiagnosed and this could have treatment implications. The aims of our study were: (i to investigate the frequency of DMX in type I and II bipolar patients hospitalized for a severe or resistant depressive episode and (ii to assess the therapeutic response in naturalistic conditions.Methods: Forty-two consecutive bipolar patients referred by psychiatrists for a severe or resistant depressive episode were assessed using the French version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5.0 (MINI 5.0, which assesses the suicide risk and provides DSM-IV diagnosis. The intensity of mood episodes was evaluated using the MADRS and Bech-Rafaelsen Mania Scale. One group of patients included patients presenting only depressive symptoms (ie, pure major depressive episode (MDE, and the second group included patients with a major depressive episode and at least two specific hypomanic symptoms (DMX.Results: Twenty-one patients (50% had a pure MDE and 21 patients (50% had a DMX. The treatment leading to recovery was very different in the two groups. Antidepressants were effective (77% in MDE patients, whereas antipsychotics were effective (81% in DMX. 38% of patients with a MDE also received a mood stabilizer versus 86% in the group of DMX. Five MDE patients (24% and one DMX patient required electroconvulsive therapy. The suicidal ideations did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.7.Conclusions: Some mood episodes in

The decontamination of implant surfaces represents the basic procedure in the management of peri-implant diseases, but it is still a challenge. The study aimed to evaluate the degradation of oral biofilms grown in situ on machined titanium (Ti) discs by cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). ~200 Ti discs were exposed to the oral cavities of five healthy human volunteers for 72 h. The resulting biofilms were divided randomly between the following treatments: CAP (which varied in mean power, treatment duration, and/or the gas mixture), and untreated and treated controls (diode laser, air-abrasion, chlorhexidine). The viability, quantity, and morphology of the biofilms were determined by live/dead staining, inoculation onto blood agar, quantification of the total protein content, and scanning electron microscopy. Exposure to CAP significantly reduced the viability and quantity of biofilms compared with the positive control treatments. The efficacy of treatment with CAP correlated with the treatment duration and plasma power. No single method achieved complete biofilm removal; however, CAP may provide an effective support to established decontamination techniques for treatment of peri-implant diseases.

Surface chemical compositions of starch nanocrystals (SNC) prepared using sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) hydrolysis were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and FT-IR. The results showed that carboxyl groups and sulfate esters were presented in SNC after hydrolysis with H2SO4, while no sulfate esters were detected in SNC during HCl-hydrolysis. TEM results showed that, compared to H2SO4-hydrolyzed sample, a wider size distribution of SNC prepared by HCl-hydrolysis were observed. Zeta-potentials were -23.1 and -5.02 mV for H2SO4- and HCl-hydrolyzed SNC suspensions at pH 6.5, respectively. Nevertheless, the zeta-potential values decreased to -32.3 and -10.2 mV as the dispersion pH was adjusted to 10.6. After placed 48 h at pH 10.6, zeta-potential increased to -24.1 mV for H2SO4-hydrolyzed SNC, while no change was detected for HCl-hydrolyzed one. The higher zeta-potential and relative small particle distribution of SNC caused more stable suspensions compared to HCl-hydrolyzed sample.

Full Text Available Surface chemical compositions of starch nanocrystals (SNC prepared using sulfuric acid (H2SO4 and hydrochloric acid (HCl hydrolysis were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and FT-IR. The results showed that carboxyl groups and sulfate esters were presented in SNC after hydrolysis with H2SO4, while no sulfate esters were detected in SNC during HCl-hydrolysis. TEM results showed that, compared to H2SO4-hydrolyzed sample, a wider size distribution of SNC prepared by HCl-hydrolysis were observed. Zeta-potentials were -23.1 and -5.02 mV for H2SO4- and HCl-hydrolyzed SNC suspensions at pH 6.5, respectively. Nevertheless, the zeta-potential values decreased to -32.3 and -10.2 mV as the dispersion pH was adjusted to 10.6. After placed 48 h at pH 10.6, zeta-potential increased to -24.1 mV for H2SO4-hydrolyzed SNC, while no change was detected for HCl-hydrolyzed one. The higher zeta-potential and relative small particle distribution of SNC caused more stable suspensions compared to HCl-hydrolyzed sample.

The influence of the surface phonons on the polaron effect in a quantum dot is investigated. We consider the polar quantum dot embedded into the polar matrix. The polaron energy shift for the electron and hole ground states is calculated. It is shown that the contribution of the surface phonons may exceed the bulk phonon contribution.

Finding appropriate systems with a large spin splitting of metallic surface-state band which can be fabricated on silicon using routine technique is an essential step in combining Rashba-effect based spintronics with silicon technology. We have found that originally poor structural and electronic properties of the Au/Si(111) √3 x √3 surface can be substantially improved by adsorbing small amounts of suitable species (e.g., Tl, In, Na, Cs). The resultant surfaces exhibit a highly-ordered atomic structure and spin-split metallic surface-state band with a momentum splitting of up to 0.052 Å(-1) and an energy splitting of up to 190 meV at the Fermi level. The family of adsorbate-modified Au/Si(111) √3 x √3 surfaces, on the one hand, is thought to be a fascinating playground for exploring spin-splitting effects in the metal monolayers on a semiconductor and, on the other hand, expands greatly the list of material systems prospective for spintronics applications.

To assess the capsules formed by silicone implants coated with polyurethane foam and with a textured surface. Sixty-four Wistar albinus rats were divided into two groups of 32 each using polyurethane foam and textured surface. The capsules around the implants were analyzed for 30, 50, 70 and 90 days. Were analyzed the following parameters: foreign body reaction, granulation tissue, presence of myofibroblasts, neoangiogenesis, presence of synovial metaplasia, capsular thickness, total area and collagen percentage of type I and III, in capsules formed around silicone implants in both groups. The foreign body reaction was only present in the four polyurethane subgroups. The formation of granulation tissue and the presence of myofibroblasts were higher in the four polyurethane subgroups. Regarding to neoangiogenesis and synovial metaplasia, there was no statistical difference between the groups. Polyurethane group presented (all subgroups) a greater capsule thickness, a smaller total area and collagen percentage of type I and a higher percentage area of type III, with statistical difference. The use of polyurethane-coated implants should be stimulated by the long-term results in a more stable capsule and a lower incidence of capsular contracture, despite developing a more intense and delayed inflammatory reaction in relation to implants with textured surface.

... BASIN COMMISSION ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Project Review Under Section 3.8... Section 3.8 of the Compact in such form and manner as shall be provided by Administrative Agreement. (a...

In this report, research and development results on the bituminization of radioactive wastes are closely reviewed, especially those regarding waste treatment technologies, waste solidifying procedures and the characteristics of asphalt and solidified forms. A new concept of the bituminization method is suggested in this report which can improve the characteristics of solidified forms. Stable solid forms with high leach resistance, high thermal resistance and good compression strength were produced by the suggested bituminization method, in which spent polyethylene from agricultural farms was added. This report can help further research and development of improved bituminized forms of radioactive wastes that will maintain long term stabilities in disposal sites. (author). 59 refs., 19 tabs., 18 figs

Spectral differences between cytosine (Cyt) and 5-methylcytosine (5MC) were investigated by means of Raman spectroscopy with a combination of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) revealed discriminating peaks of 5MC from those of Cyt upon adsorption on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Among the notable features, the multiple bands between 850 and 700 cm- 1 for the ring-breathing modes of 5MC and Cyt could be correlated well with the simulated spectra based on the DFT calculations of the adsorbates on the gold cluster atoms. The relative energetic stabilities of the enol/keto and the amino/imino tautomeric forms of Cyt and 5MC have been estimated using DFT calculations, before and after binding six atom gold clusters. Among the six tautomeric forms, the 7H keto amino and the 4H imino trans forms are expected to be predominant in binding gold atoms, whereas the enol trans/cis conformers would coexist in the free gas phase. Our approach may provide useful theoretical guidelines for identifying 5MC from Cyt by analyzing Raman spectra on gold surfaces on the basis of quantum-mechanical calculations.

Full Text Available The article outlines the theoretical approaches to the study of the transformation of the forms of interaction between government and firms under the influence of the evolution of the productive forces and relations of production, depending on the mechanism for the coordination of economic activity, the level of competition and the dominant form of ownership. Substantiated, that partnerships between government and firms are a natural result of the transformation of these relations in the post-industrial economy.

Pigment Yellow 101 (PY101) exhibits a rich photochemistry in its S-1 state as it undergoes excited state intramolecular proton transfer and trans-cis isomerizations upon photoexcitation. Relaxed scans of its potential energy surface are thus computed along the reaction paths connecting the six most

The air-formedsurface oxide films used for stents were characterized to determine their composition and chemical state on a Co-Ni-Cr-Mo alloy. The change of the films in Hanks' solution was used to estimate the reconstruction of the film in the human body. Angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to characterize the composition of the film and substrate, as well as the film's thickness. The surface oxide film on the Co-Ni-Cr-Mo alloy (when mechanically polished) consists of oxide species of cobalt, nickel, chromium, and molybdenum, contains a large amount of OH{sup -}, and has a thickness of approximately 2.5 nm. Cations exist in the oxide as Co{sup 2+}, Ni{sup 2+}, Cr{sup 3+}, Mo{sup 4+}, Mo{sup 5+}, and Mo{sup 6+}. Chromium is enriched and cobalt and nickel are depleted in the oxide; however, nickel is enriched and cobalt is depleted in the substrate alloy just under the surface oxide film. Concentration of chromium was low and that of nickel was high at small take-off angles. This indicates that distribution of chromium is greater in the inner layer, but nickel is distributed more in the outer layer of the surface oxide film. During immersion in Hanks' solution, cobalt and nickel dissolved, and the film composition changed to mostly chromium oxide (Cr{sup 3+}), along with small amounts of cobalt, nickel, and molybdenum oxides, and calcium phosphate containing magnesium, potassium, and carbonate. After immersion in Hanks' solution, the thickness of the surface layer containing calcium phosphate increased to more than 4 nm, while the amount of OH{sup -} increased. The amount of cobalt and nickel in the surface oxide film and in the substrate alloy just below the oxide decreased during immersion.

Stainless steel coupons are frequently used in biofilm studies in the laboratory, as this material is commonly used in the food industry. The coupons are attached to different surfaces to create a "natural" biofilm to be studied further in laboratory trials. However, little has been done to investigate how well the microbiota on such coupons represents the surrounding environment. The microbiota on sink wall surfaces and on new stainless steel coupons attached to the sink wall for 3 months in 8 domestic kitchen sinks was investigated by next-generation sequencing (MiSeq) of the 16S rRNA gene derived from DNA and RNA (cDNA), and by plating and identification of colonies. The mean number of colony-forming units was about 10-fold higher for coupons than sink surfaces, and more variation in bacterial counts between kitchens was seen on sink surfaces than coupons. The microbiota in the majority of biofilms was dominated by Moraxellaceae (genus Moraxella/Enhydrobacter) and Micrococcaceae (genus Kocuria). The results demonstrated that the variation in the microbiota was mainly due to differences between kitchens (38.2%), followed by the different nucleic acid template (DNA vs RNA) (10.8%), and that only 5.1% of the variation was a result of differences between coupons and sink surfaces. The microbiota variation between sink surfaces and coupons was smaller for samples based on their RNA than on their DNA. Overall, our results suggest that new stainless steel coupons are suited to model the dominating part of the natural microbiota of the surrounding environment and, furthermore, are suitable for different downstream studies.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), caused by the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, is a disseminated, systemic disorder that involves the lungs and other organs. The ability of the pathogen to interact with host components, including extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, is essential to further colonization, invasion, and growth. Previously, enolase (EC 4.2.1.11) was characterized as a fibronectin binding protein in P. brasiliensis. Interaction of surface-bound enolase with plasminogen has been incriminated in tissue invasion for pathogenesis in several pathogens. In this paper, enolase was expressed in Escherichia coli as a recombinant glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein (recombinant P. brasiliensis enolase [rPbEno]). The P. brasiliensis native enolase (PbEno) was detected at the fungus surface and cytoplasm by immunofluorescence with an anti-rPbEno antibody. Immobilized purified rPbEno bound plasminogen in a specific, concentration-dependent fashion. Both native enolase and rPbEno activated conversion of plasminogen to plasmin through tissue plasminogen activator. The association between PbEno and plasminogen was lysine dependent. In competition experiments, purified rPbEno, in its soluble form, inhibited plasminogen binding to fixed P. brasiliensis, suggesting that this interaction required surface-localized PbEno. Plasminogen-coated P. brasiliensis yeast cells were capable of degrading purified fibronectin, providing in vitro evidence for the generation of active plasmin on the fungus surface. Exposure of epithelial cells and phagocytes to enolase was associated with an increased expression of surface sites of adhesion. In fact, the association of P. brasiliensis with epithelial cells and phagocytes was increased in the presence of rPbEno. The expression of PbEno was upregulated in yeast cells derived from mouse-infected tissues. These data indicate that surface-associated PbEno may contribute to the pathogenesis of P. brasiliensis. PMID

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), caused by the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, is a disseminated, systemic disorder that involves the lungs and other organs. The ability of the pathogen to interact with host components, including extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, is essential to further colonization, invasion, and growth. Previously, enolase (EC 4.2.1.11) was characterized as a fibronectin binding protein in P. brasiliensis. Interaction of surface-bound enolase with plasminogen has been incriminated in tissue invasion for pathogenesis in several pathogens. In this paper, enolase was expressed in Escherichia coli as a recombinant glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein (recombinant P. brasiliensis enolase [rPbEno]). The P. brasiliensis native enolase (PbEno) was detected at the fungus surface and cytoplasm by immunofluorescence with an anti-rPbEno antibody. Immobilized purified rPbEno bound plasminogen in a specific, concentration-dependent fashion. Both native enolase and rPbEno activated conversion of plasminogen to plasmin through tissue plasminogen activator. The association between PbEno and plasminogen was lysine dependent. In competition experiments, purified rPbEno, in its soluble form, inhibited plasminogen binding to fixed P. brasiliensis, suggesting that this interaction required surface-localized PbEno. Plasminogen-coated P. brasiliensis yeast cells were capable of degrading purified fibronectin, providing in vitro evidence for the generation of active plasmin on the fungus surface. Exposure of epithelial cells and phagocytes to enolase was associated with an increased expression of surface sites of adhesion. In fact, the association of P. brasiliensis with epithelial cells and phagocytes was increased in the presence of rPbEno. The expression of PbEno was upregulated in yeast cells derived from mouse-infected tissues. These data indicate that surface-associated PbEno may contribute to the pathogenesis of P. brasiliensis.

Full Text Available Advanced additive manufacturing techniques such as electron beam melting (EBM, can produce highly porous structures that resemble the mechanical properties and structure of native bone. However, for orthopaedic applications, such as joint prostheses or bone substitution, the surface must also be bio-functionalized to promote bone growth. In the current work, EBM porous Ti6Al4V alloy was exposed to an alkali acid heat (AlAcH treatment to bio-functionalize the surface of the porous structure. Various molar concentrations (3, 5, 10M and immersion times (6, 24 h of the alkali treatment were used to determine optimal parameters. The apatite forming ability of the samples was evaluated using simulated body fluid (SBF immersion testing. The micro-topography and surface chemistry of AlAcH treated samples were evaluated before and after SBF testing using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The AlAcH treatment successfully modified the topographical and chemical characteristics of EBM porous titanium surface creating nano-topographical features ranging from 200–300 nm in size with a titania layer ideal for apatite formation. After 1 and 3 week immersion in SBF, there was no Ca or P present on the surface of as manufactured porous titanium while both elements were present on all AlAcH treated samples except those exposed to 3M, 6 h alkali treatment. An increase in molar concentration and/or immersion time of alkali treatment resulted in an increase in the number of nano-topographical features per unit area as well as the amount of titania on the surface.

The use of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) as thin film deposition techniques has had a major impact on a number of fields. The deposition of pure, uniform, conformal thin films requires very specific vapour-solid reactivity that is largely unknown for the majority of ALD and CVD precursors. This work examines the initial chemisorption of several thin film vapour deposition precursors on high surface area silica (HSAS) using 13C, 31P, and quantitative 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Two copper metal precursors, 1,3-diisopropyl-imidazolin-2-ylidene copper (I) hexamethyldisilazide (1) and 1,3-diethyl-imidazolin-2-ylidene copper(I) hexamethyldisilazide (2), and one gold metal precursor, trimethylphosphine gold(III) trimethyl (3), are examined. Compounds 1 and 2 were found to chemisorb at the hydroxyl surface-reactive sites to form a ||-O-Cu-NHC surface species and fully methylated silicon (||-SiMe3, due to reactivity of the hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) ligand on the precursor) at 150 °C and 250 °C. From quantitative 29Si solid-state NMR (SS-NMR) spectroscopy measurements, it was found that HMDS preferentially reacts at geminal disilanol surface sites while the copper surface species preferentially chemisorbed to lone silanol surface species. Additionally, the overall coverage was strongly dependent on temperature, with higher overall coverage of 1 at higher temperature but lower overall coverage of 2 at higher temperature. The chemisorption of 3 was found to produce a number of interesting surface species on HSAS. Gold(III) trimethylphosphine, reduced gold phosphine, methylated phosphoxides, and graphitic carbon were all observed as surface species. The overall coverage of 3 on HSAS was only about 10% at 100 °C and, like the copper compounds, had a preference for lone silanol surface reactive sites. The overall coverage and chemisorbed surface species have implications to the overall growth rate and purity of

The Rashba effect plays an important role in various spin-related phenomena in two-dimensional electronic systems. In this work we present a theoretical analysis of the Rashba effect both analytically and numerically for the prototypical Rashba system Bi/Ag surface alloy, which shows a giant Rashba spin splitting. The results reveal the critical influence of atomic spin-orbit coupling and structural inversion asymmetry. In addition, we demonstrate a theoretical route to interpret the prominent circular dichroic patterns observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in this system. The results reveal a close connection between the experimentally observed dichroic patterns and the Rashba spin texture.

It has been recently demonstrated, that a strained grown layer of of HgTe is a 3D topological insulator (TI) exhibiting a single family of Dirac cone states at its surface. Since the bulk has nearly no carriers left, the transport through these structures is strongly dominated by the surfacestates. Because of the prediction of creation of Majorana bound states we are looking at a superconductor-TI interface. This talk presents our results on highly transparent S-TI-S junctions where we observe unusual behaviour in the Josephson current. Preliminary results of this project are published.

Mixed molecular self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold, based on two types of electroactive molecules, that is, electron-donor (ferrocene) and electron-acceptor (anthraquinone) molecules, are prepared as an approach to realise surfaces exhibiting multiple accessible redox states. The SAMs are investigated in different electrolyte media. The nature of these media has a strong impact on the types of redox processes that take place and on the redox potentials. Under optimised conditions, surfaces with three redox states are achieved. Such states are accessible in a relatively narrow potential window in which the SAMs on gold are stable. This communication elucidates the key challenges in fabricating bicomponent SAMs as electrochemical switches.

Using Monte Carlo simulations of a wormlike chain that contains the excluded-volume interaction, we demonstrate that a directionally anisotropic state exists at high surface coverage, when the chain is confined to a spherical surface. The isotropic-anisotropic transition has first-order characteristics and can be compared with the isotropic-nematic transition observed in lyotropic polymer systems, both driven by the excluded-volume interaction. Unlike a nematic state, the anisotropic state observed here displays the so-called tennis-ball conformation, coupling the polymer-segment orientation preference with positional order.

A pulsed fiber laser with a wavelength of 1.06 µm was used to treat a commercial pure titanium surface in the air at intensities below the ablation threshold to provide oxide formation. Laser oxidation results are predicted by the chemical thermodynamic method and confirmed by experimental techniques (x-ray diffraction, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy). For the first time, the chemical thermodynamic method was used for determining the qualitative and quantitative phase-chemical composition of the compounds formed by a pulsed laser heating of commercial titanium in the air, and its applicability is proven. The simulation shows that multilayered composite film appears on a surface, the lower layers of which consist of Ti2O3 and TiO oxides with the addition of titanium nitride; and the thin upper layer consists of transparent titanium dioxide. Also, the chemical composition of films remains unchanged within a temperature range of 881-2000 K.

A calcium phosphate (CaP) coating on titanium surface enhances its biocompatibility, thus facilitating osteoconduction and osteoinduction with the inorganic phase of the human bone. Electrochemical deposition has been suggested as an effective means of fabricating CaP coatings on porous surface. The purpose of this study was to develop CaP coatings on a direct laser metal forming implant using electrochemical deposition and to investigate the effect of electrolytic concentration on the coating's morphology and structure by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, water contact angle analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In group 10−2, coatings were rich in dicalcium phosphate, characterized to be thick, layered, and disordered plates. In contrast, in groups 10−3 and 10−4, the relatively thin and well-ordered coatings predominantly consisted of granular hydroxyapatite. Further, the hydrophilicity and cell affinity were improved as electrolytic concentration increased. In particular, the cells cultured in group 10−3 appeared to have spindle morphology with thick pseudopodia on CaP coatings; these spindles and pseudopodia strongly adhered to the rough and porous surface. By analyzing and evaluating the surface properties, we provided further knowledge on the electrolytic concentration effect, which will be critical for improving CaP coated Ti implants in the future. PMID:28250771

Full Text Available A calcium phosphate (CaP coating on titanium surface enhances its biocompatibility, thus facilitating osteoconduction and osteoinduction with the inorganic phase of the human bone. Electrochemical deposition has been suggested as an effective means of fabricating CaP coatings on porous surface. The purpose of this study was to develop CaP coatings on a direct laser metal forming implant using electrochemical deposition and to investigate the effect of electrolytic concentration on the coating’s morphology and structure by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, water contact angle analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In group 10−2, coatings were rich in dicalcium phosphate, characterized to be thick, layered, and disordered plates. In contrast, in groups 10−3 and 10−4, the relatively thin and well-ordered coatings predominantly consisted of granular hydroxyapatite. Further, the hydrophilicity and cell affinity were improved as electrolytic concentration increased. In particular, the cells cultured in group 10−3 appeared to have spindle morphology with thick pseudopodia on CaP coatings; these spindles and pseudopodia strongly adhered to the rough and porous surface. By analyzing and evaluating the surface properties, we provided further knowledge on the electrolytic concentration effect, which will be critical for improving CaP coated Ti implants in the future.

Full Text Available This work deals with the formation of supramolecular complexes between ascorbic acid (AA, the guest, and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD, the host, that was first potentiodynamically immobilized on the surface of a carbon paste electrode (CPE throughout the formation of a β-CD-based conducting polymer (poly-β-CD. With the bare CPE and the β-CD-modified CPE, an electrochemical study was performed to understand the effect of such surface modification on the electrochemical response of the AA. From this study it was shown that on the modified-CPE, the AA was surface-immobilized through formation of an inclusion complex with β-CD, which provoked the adsorption of AA in such a way that this stage became the limiting step for the electrochemical oxidation of AA. Moreover, from the analysis of the experimental voltammetric plots recorded during AA oxidation on the CPE/poly-β-CD electrode surfaces, the Gibbs’ standard free energy of the inclusion complex formed by the oxidation product of AA and β-CD has been determined for the first time, ∆G0inclus = −36.4 kJ/mol.

Five highly conserved per os infectivity factors, PIF1, PIF2, PIF3, PIF4, and P74, have been reported to be essential for oral infectivity of baculovirus occlusion-derived virus (ODV) in insect larvae. Three of these proteins, P74, PIF1, and PIF2, were thought to function in virus binding to insect midgut cells. In this paper evidence is provided that PIF1, PIF2, and PIF3 form a stable complex on the surface of ODV particles of the baculovirus Autographa californica multinucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV). The complex could withstand 2% SDS-5% β-mercaptoethanol with heating at 50°C for 5 min. The complex was not formed when any of the genes for PIF1, PIF2, or PIF3 was deleted, while reinsertion of these genes into AcMNPV restored the complex. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis independently confirmed the interactions of the three PIF proteins and revealed in addition that P74 is also associated with this complex. However, deletion of the p74 gene did not affect formation of the PIF1-PIF2-PIF3 complex. Electron microscopy analysis showed that PIF1 and PIF2 are localized on the surface of the ODV with a scattered distribution. This distribution did not change for PIF1 or PIF2 when the gene for PIF2 or PIF1 protein was deleted. We propose that PIF1, PIF2, PIF3, and P74 form an evolutionarily conserved complex on the ODV surface, which has an essential function in the initial stages of baculovirus oral infection. PMID:20610731

The chemical compositions of the surface conditioning layers formed by different types of solutions (from isolated EPS to whole culture media), involving different bacterial strains relevant for biocorrosion were compared, as they may influence the initial step in biofilm formation. Different substrata (polystyrene, glass, steel) were conditioned and analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Peak decomposition and assignment were validated by correlations between independent spectral data and the ubiquitous presence of organic contaminants on inorganic substrata was taken into account. Proteins or peptides were found to be a major constituent of all conditioning layers and polysaccharides were not present in appreciable concentrations; the proportion of nitrogen which may be due to DNA was lower than 15%. There was no significant difference between the compositions of the adlayers formed from different conditioning solutions, except for the adlayers produced with tightly bound EPS extracted from D. alaskensis.

In this paper, the relationship between the Gas to Melt Ratio (GMR) and the solid fraction of an evolving billet surface is investigated numerically. The basis for the analysis is a recently developed integrated procedure for modelling the entire spray forming process. This model includes...... is the summation of “local” droplet size distributions along the r-axis of the spray cone. The criterion for a successful process has been a predefined process window characterised by a desired solid fraction range at a certain distance from the atomizer. Inside this process window, the gas and melt flows have...

We used thermogravimetric hydrogen reduction and iodometric titration to determine the bulk valence state of cobalt in Co-perovskites containing surface carbonate hydroxide or hydroxyl groups. It could be shown that thermogravimetric hydrogen reduction experiments are very sensitive to volatile surface groups, but due to their volatility, they can be specified and the bulk valence state of cobalt can still be deduced from these experiments. The iodometric titration is less sensitive to small volatile surface impurities, but precaution has to be taken that oxygen or iodine does not escape from the solution during dissolution of the sample. Best results were obtained if the sample was titrated during dissolution in a closed argon floated titration apparatus. We tested the two methods using LaCoO3 perovskite as a sample with a known valence state. Both methods delivered satisfactory results, and the valence state could be determined with an accuracy of better than 1%.

Laser-induced fluorescence and dispersed fluorescence spectra measured in supersonic jets for 9,10,19,20-tetra-n-methylporphycene and 9,10,19,20-tetra-n-propylporphycene reveal, for both compounds, the presence of two different species which are assigned to trans and cis tautomeric forms. Doublet splitting of lines is observed, disappearing upon deuteration of the inner nitrogen atoms. This finding is interpreted as an indication of double hydrogen tunneling. The values of tunneling splitting are obtained for both ground and lowest singlet excited states. The splitting is similar for cis and trans forms, and the barrier for tautomerization is larger in the excited state. Due to the coupling of hydrogen motion with rotation of alkyl substituents, tautomerization occurs in an asymmetric double minimum potential, with the ordering of energy minima reversed upon excitation. The second singlet excited state is found to lie very close to S(1), thus facilitating an efficient radiationless depopulation.

About 20 years ago, researchers at a few locations across the globe discovered high levels of mercury in fish from remote settings lacking any obvious mercury source. We now know that for most locations atmospheric deposition is the dominant mercury source, and that mercury methylation is the key process that translates low mercury loading rates into relatively high levels in top predators of aquatic food webs. Presently, almost all US states have advisories for elevated levels of mercury in sport fish, and as a result there is considerable public awareness and concern for this nearly ubiquitous contaminant issue. In some states, “statewide” advisories have been issued because elevated fish mercury levels are so common, or the state has no effective way to monitor thousands of lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, and streams. As such, resource managers and public health officials have limited options for informing the public on of where elevated mercury concentrations in sport fish are more likely to occur than others. This project provides, for the first time, a national map of predicted (modeled) methylmercury concentrations in surface waters, which is the most toxic and bioaccumulative form of mercury in the environment. The map is the result of over two decades of research that resulted in the formulation of conceptual models of the mercury methylation process, which is strongly governed by environmental conditions - specifically hydrologic landscapes and water quality. The resulting predictive map shows clear regional trends in the distribution of methylmercury concentrations in surface waters. East of the Mississippi, the Gulf and southeastern Atlantic coast, the northeast, the lower Mississippi valley, and Great Lakes area are predicted to have generally higher environmental methylmercury levels. Higher-elevation, well-drained areas of Appalachia are predicted to have relatively lower methylmercury abundance. Other than the prairie pothole region, in the western

Vibrational spectrum of the ordered Pt(111)- left( {sqrt {3} × sqrt {3} } right) R30°- K surface superstructure formed on the platinum surface with adsorption of 1/3 ML potassium is calculated with the use of the interatomic interaction potentials obtained in the strong bond approximation. Relaxation of the surface, dispersion of the surface phonons, local density of vibrational states, and polarization of phonon modes of adatoms and atoms of the substrate are discussed in the work. The theoretical results obtained agree well with the available experimental data.

We study the energy spectrum of atoms trapped in a vertical 1D optical lattice in close proximity to a reflective surface. We propose an effective model to describe the interaction between the atoms and the surface at any distance. Our model includes the long-range Casimir-Polder potential together with a short-range Lennard-Jones potential, which are considered non-perturbatively with respect to the optical lattice potential. We find an intricate energy spectrum which contains a pair of loosely-bound states localized close to the surface in addition to a surface-modified Wannier-Stark ladder at long distances. Atomic interferometry involving those loosely-bound atom-surfacestates is proposed to probe the adsorption dynamics of atoms on mirrors.

We present a model for Desorption Induce by (Multiple) Electronic Transitions (DIET/DIMET) based on potential energy surfaces calculated with the Delta Self-Consistent Field extension of Density Functional Theory. We calculate potential energy surfaces of CO and NO molecules adsorbed on various transition metal surfaces, and show that classical nuclear dynamics does not suffice for propagation in the excited state. We present a simple Hamiltonian describing the system, with parameters obtained from the excited state potential energy surface, and show that this model can describe desorption dynamics in both the DIET and DIMET regime, and reproduce the power law behavior observed experimentally. We observe that the internal stretch degree of freedom in the molecules is crucial for the energy transfer between the hot electrons and the molecule when the coupling to the surface is strong.

Hot stamping of high-strength steel (HSS) can significantly improve ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of hot-stamped part and thus meet the increasing demands for weight reduction and safety standards in vehicles. However, the prediction of forming defect such as cracking in hot stamping using traditional forming limit curve (FLC) is still challenging. In this paper, to predict HSS BR1500HS cracking in hot stamping, a temperature-dependent forming limit surface (FLS) is developed by simulations combined with experiments of biaxial tension of the plate with a groove at different temperatures. Different from the FLC, the newly developed FLS in which temperature is included suits the hot stamping of HSS. Considering the interplay among phase transformation, stress and strain, a finite element (FE)-coupled thermo-mechanical model of the hot stamping is developed and implemented under ABAQUS/Explicit platform where the developed FLS is built-in to predict strain distributions and HSS BR1500HS cracking in the hot stamping. Finally, the developed FLS is used to evaluate hot formability of HSS BR1500HS by using a hot stamping experiment for forming a box-shaped part. Results confirm that the developed FLS can accurately predict HSS BR1500HS cracking occurrence in the hot stamping.

Forming capillary bridges of low-viscosity ({approx}<10 mPa s) fluids is difficult, making the study of their capillary-thinning behavior and the measurement of the fluid's extensional viscosity difficult as well. Current techniques require some time to form a liquid bridge from the stretching of a droplet. Rapidly stretching a liquid bridge using these methods can cause its breakup if the viscosity is too low. Stretching more slowly allows the bridge to thin and break up before a suitable bridge geometry can be established to provide reliable and accurate rheological data. Using a pulsed surface acoustic wave to eject a jet from a sessile droplet, a capillary bridge may be formed in about 7.5 ms, about seven times quicker than current methods. With this approach, capillary bridges may be formed from Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids having much lower viscosities-water, 0.04% by weight solution of high-molecular-weight (7 MDa) polystyrene in dioctyl phthalate and 0.25% fibrinogen solution in demineralized water, for example. Details of the relatively simple system used to achieve these results are provided, as are experimental results indicating deviations from a Newtonian response by the low-viscosity non-Newtonian fluids used in our study.

Forming capillary bridges of low-viscosity (lsim10 mPa s) fluids is difficult, making the study of their capillary-thinning behavior and the measurement of the fluid's extensional viscosity difficult as well. Current techniques require some time to form a liquid bridge from the stretching of a droplet. Rapidly stretching a liquid bridge using these methods can cause its breakup if the viscosity is too low. Stretching more slowly allows the bridge to thin and break up before a suitable bridge geometry can be established to provide reliable and accurate rheological data. Using a pulsed surface acoustic wave to eject a jet from a sessile droplet, a capillary bridge may be formed in about 7.5 ms, about seven times quicker than current methods. With this approach, capillary bridges may be formed from Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids having much lower viscosities—water, 0.04% by weight solution of high-molecular-weight (7 MDa) polystyrene in dioctyl phthalate and 0.25% fibrinogen solution in demineralized water, for example. Details of the relatively simple system used to achieve these results are provided, as are experimental results indicating deviations from a Newtonian response by the low-viscosity non-Newtonian fluids used in our study.

Full Text Available Procyclic forms of Trypanosoma brucei reside in the midgut of tsetse flies where they are covered by several million copies of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins known as procyclins. It has been proposed that procyclins protect parasites against proteases and/or participate in tropism, directing them from the midgut to the salivary glands. There are four different procyclin genes, each subject to elaborate levels of regulation. To determine if procyclins are essential for survival and transmission of T. brucei, all four genes were deleted and parasite fitness was compared in vitro and in vivo. When co-cultured in vitro, the null mutant and wild type trypanosomes (tagged with cyan fluorescent protein maintained a near-constant equilibrium. In contrast, when flies were infected with the same mixture, the null mutant was rapidly overgrown in the midgut, reflecting a reduction in fitness in vivo. Although the null mutant is patently defective in competition with procyclin-positive parasites, on its own it can complete the life cycle and generate infectious metacyclic forms. The procyclic form of T. brucei thus differs strikingly from the bloodstream form, which does not tolerate any perturbation of its variant surface glycoprotein coat, and from other parasites such as Plasmodium berghei, which requires the circumsporozoite protein for successful transmission to a new host.

The paper presents data on state of the art in selective laser sintering of products. Layer-by-layer sintering is shown to be a future-oriented technology, making it possible to synthesize products of metal powder materials. Factors, influencing the quality of a sintered product, are revealed in the paper. It presents outcomes of experiments, focused on the dependence of surface layer thickness of sintered aluminum powder PA-4 on laser processing conditions. Basic factors, influencing the quality of a sintered surface layer include laser power, speeds of scanning and moving the laser beam on the layer of powder. Thickness of the sintered layer varies from 0.74 to 1.55 mm, as the result of changing the laser processing conditions.

The solvable condition of nonlinear H∞ control problems is given by the Hamilton Jacobi inequality (HJI). The state-dependent Riccati inequality (SDRI) is one of the approaches used to solve the HJI. The SDRI contains the state-dependent coefficient (SDC) form of a nonlinear system. The SDC form is not unique. If a poor SDC form is chosen, then there is no solution for the SDRI. In other words, there exist free parameters of the SDC form that affect the solvability of the SDRI. This study focuses on the free parameters of the SDC form. First, a representation of the free parameters of the SDC form is introduced. The solvability of an SDRI is a sufficient condition for that of the related HJI, and the free parameters affect the conservativeness of the SDRI approach. In addition, a new method for designing the free parameters that reduces the conservativeness of the SDRI approach is introduced. Finally, numerical examples to verify the effect of this method are presented.

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we have measured the Fermi surface of V(110) films epitaxially grown on a W(110) substrate. We compare our results for thicker films to existing calculations and measurements for bulk vanadium and find generally very good agreement. For thinner films, we observe and analyse a diverse array of quantum well states that split and distort the Fermi surface segments. We have searched unsuccessfully for a thickness-induced topological transition associated with contact between the zone-centre jungle gym and zone-boundary hole ellipsoid Fermi surface segments. We also find no evidence for ferromagnetic splitting of any bands on this surface.

An analytical solution for the posterior estimate in Bayesian tomography of the unknown quantum state of an arbitrary quantum system (with a finite-dimensional Hilbert space) is found. First, we derive the Bayesian estimate for a pure quantum state measured by a set of arbitrary rank-1 POVMs under the uninformative (i.e. the unitary invariant or Haar) prior. The expression for the estimate involves the matrix permanents of the Gram matrices with repeated rows and columns, with the matrix elements being the scalar products of vectors giving the measurement outcomes. Second, an unknown mixed state is treated by the Hilbert-Schmidt purification. In this case, under the uninformative prior for the combined pure state, the posterior estimate of the mixed state of the system is expressed through the matrix $\\alpha$-permanents of the Gram matrices of scalar products of vectors giving the measurement outcomes. In the mixed case, there is also a free integer parameter -- the Schmidt number -- which can be used to opti...

The aim of the research was to verify that electrospraying of piroxicam yielded a new polymorphic form of this drug. In the experiments, piroxicam was dissolved in chloroform and the solution was atomised electrostatically. Subsequently, the charged droplets were neutralised and dried. The solid drug particles were collected and analysed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, high performance liquid chromatography, and infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The X-ray diffractogram measured for the electrosprayed piroxicam particles did not match with any of the known piroxicam crystal structures (Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre). The variable temperature X-ray diffraction showed that the structure recrystallised completely into piroxicam polymorphic formI during heating. No degradation products or solvate removal was detected by high performance liquid chromatography and thermal analysis. The infrared and Raman spectra of the electrosprayed piroxicam were compared to those of formI, and some notable differences in the peak positions, shapes and intensities were detected. The results indicate that electrospraying leads to piroxicam crystallisation in a currently unknown polymorphic form.

Pyramidal cells in the hippocampus are part of a small neuronal network that performs computations on external input. The network consists of principal cells and various forms of feedback inhibition. Experimental evidence indicates at least two functionally distinct inhibitory feedback loops in the

We present the calculation of vibrational modes and lattice relaxation for the (110), (211), (311), (511), (331) and (221) surfaces of Al, Ag, Cu and Pd. The surface phonon frequencies and polarizations are obtained for relaxed and unrelaxed surfaces using embedded atom model potentials. On all surfaces studied step-localized vibrational modes and surfacestates localized on terrace atoms are found. It is shown that as the terrace width increases so does the number of surface phonons. It is found that interlayer relaxation leads to a shift in the frequencies of the surfacestates and to a change in the number and localization. In particular, it may cause the appearance or disappearance of step modes. It is shown that the character of relaxation on vicinal surfaces is determined by the number of atoms on a terrace. A comparison of the results with the available experimental data for the Al(221), Cu(211), and Cu(511) surfaces indicates that there is a good agreement with the experimental data.

The surface properties of human meibomian lipids (MGS), the major constituent of the tear film (TF) lipid layer, are of key importance for TF stability. The dynamic interfacial properties of films by MGS from normal eyes (nMGS) and eyes with meibomian gland dysfunction (dMGS) were studied using a Langmuir surface balance. The behavior of the samples during dynamic area changes was evaluated by surface pressure-area isotherms and isocycles. The surface dilatational rheology of the films was examined in the frequency range 10(-5) to 1 Hz by the stress-relaxation method. A significant difference was found, with dMGS showing slow viscosity-dominated relaxation at 10(-4) to 10(-3) Hz, whereas nMGS remained predominantly elastic over the whole range. A Cole-Cole plot revealed two characteristic processes contributing to the relaxation, fast (on the scale of characteristic time τ 100 s), the latter prevailing in dMGS films. Brewster angle microscopy revealed better spreading of nMGS at the air-water interface, whereas dMGS layers were non-uniform and patchy. The distinctions in the interfacial properties of the films in vitro correlated with the accelerated degradation of meibum layer pattern at the air-tear interface and with the decreased stability of TF in vivo. These results, and also recent findings on the modest capability of meibum to suppress the evaporation of the aqueous subphase, suggest the need for a re-evaluation of the role of MGS. The probable key function of meibomian lipids might be to form viscoelastic films capable of opposing dilation of the air-tear interface. The impact of temperature on the meibum surface properties is discussed in terms of its possible effect on the normal structure of the film.

Spin-momentum locking in protected surfacestates enables efficient electrical detection of magnon decay at a magnetic-insulator/topological-insulator heterojunction. Here we demonstrate this property using the spin Seebeck effect (SSE), that is, measuring the transverse thermoelectric response to a temperature gradient across a thin film of yttrium iron garnet, an insulating ferrimagnet, and forming a heterojunction with (BixSb1-x)2Te3, a topological insulator. The non-equilibrium magnon population established at the interface can decay in part by interactions of magnons with electrons near the Fermi energy of the topological insulator. When this decay channel is made active by tuning (BixSb1-x)2Te3 into a bulk insulator, a large electromotive force emerges in the direction perpendicular to the in-plane magnetization of yttrium iron garnet. The enhanced, tunable SSE which occurs when the Fermi level lies in the bulk gap offers unique advantages over the usual SSE in metals and therefore opens up exciting possibilities in spintronics.

An influence of the electron-phonon interaction on excitation spectrum and damping in a narrow band electron subsystem of cuprates has been investigated. Within the framework of the t-J model an approach to solving a problem of account of both strong electron correlations and local electron-phonon binding with characteristic Einstein mode ω0 in the normal state has been presented. In approximation Hubbard-I it was found an exact solution for the polaron bands. We established that in the low-dimensional system with a pure kinematic part of Hamiltonian a complicated excitation spectrum is realized. It is determined mainly by peculiarities of the lattice Green's function. In the definite area of the electron concentration and hopping integrals a correlation gap may be possible on the Fermi level. Also, in specific cases it is observed a doping evolution of the Fermi surface. We found that the strong electron-phonon binding enforces a degree of coherence of electron-polaron excitations near the Fermi level and spectrum along the nodal direction depends on wave vector module weakly. It corresponds to ARPES data. A possible origin of the experimentally observed kink in the nodal direction of cuprates is explained by fine structure of the polaron band to be formed near the mode -ω0.

The first ab initio potential energy surface of the Kr-OCS complex is developed using the coupled-cluster singles and doubles with noniterative inclusion of connected triples [CCSD(T)]. The mixed basis sets, aug-cc-pVTZ for the O, C, and S atom, and aug-cc-pVQZ-PP for the Kr atom, with an additional (3s3p2d1f) set of midbond functions are used. A potential model is represented by an analytical function whose parameters are fitted numerically to the single point energies computed at 228 configurations. The potential has a T-shaped global minimum and a local linear minimum. The global minimum occurs at R = 7.146 a(0), θ = 105.0° with energy of -270.73 cm(-1). Bound state energies up to J = 9 are calculated for three isotopomers (82)Kr-OCS, (84)Kr-OCS, and (86)Kr-OCS. Analysis of the vibrational wavefunctions and energies suggests the complex can exist in two isomeric forms: T-shaped and quasi-linear. The calculated transition frequencies and spectroscopic constants of the three isotopomers are in good agreement with the experimental values.

A quantum version of a recent formulation of transition state theory in phase space is presented. The theory developed provides an algorithm to compute quantum reaction rates and the associated Gamov-Siegert resonances with very high accuracy. The algorithm is especially efficient for multi-degree-o

Topologically non-trivial surfacestates were reported first on {{Bi}}1-xSb x bulk crystals. In this study we present transport measurements performed on thin {{Bi}}1-xSb x -films (up to 24 nm thickness) grown epitaxially on Si(111) with various Sb-concentrations (up to x = 0.22). The analysis of the temperature dependency allowed us to distinguish between different transport channels originating from surface and bulk bands as well as impurity states. At temperatures below 30 K the transport is mediated by surfacestates while at higher temperatures activated transport via bulk channels sets in. The surfacestate conductivity and bulk band gaps can be tuned by the Sb-concentration and film thickness, respectively. For films as thin as 4 nm the surfacestate transport is strongly suppressed in contrast to Bi(111) films grown under identical conditions. The impurity channel is of intrinsic origin due to the growth and alloy formation process and turns out to be located at the buried interface.

The in situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) within covalently-modified poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films possessing ultra-thin layer of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) is successfully demonstrated. The resulting polymeric films are shown to exhibit antimicrobial activities toward Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria and fungus (Candida albicans). To make the films, first PET surfaces were subject to photo-oxidation and subsequent solid-state grafting to attach a PVA layer, followed by a PAA layer. To synthesize the AgNPs inside the films, the PVA and PAA-modified PET was soaked in AgNO3 solution and the polymeric film was modified with the Ag(+) ions via Ag(+)-carboxylate interaction, and then the Ag(+) ions-containing polymer film was subject to either photo-reduction or thermal reduction processes. The PVA and PAA thin layers attached by covalent bonds to the PET surface uniquely promoted not only the in situ synthesis but also the stabilization of AgNPs. The formation of the AgNPs was confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy or by monitoring the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak associated with AgNPs. The resulting PVA and PAA ultrathin layers modified and AgNPs containing PET served as bactericide and fungicide, inhibiting the growth of bacteria and fungi on the surfaces. Given PET's versatility and common use in many commercial processes, the method can be used for producing plastic surfaces with versatile antimicrobial and antibacterial properties.

One early triumph of quantum physics is the explanation why some materials are metallic whereas others are insulating. While a treatment based on single electron states is correct for most materials this approach can fail spectacularly, when the electrostatic repulsion between electrons causes strong correlations. Not only can these favor new and subtle forms of matter, such as magnetism or superconductivity, they can even cause the electrons in a half-filled energy band to lock into position, producing a correlated, or Mott insulator. The transition into the Mott insulating state raises important fundamental questions. Foremost among these is the fate of the electronic Fermi surface and the associated charge carrier mass, as the Mott transition is approached. We report the first direct observation of the Fermi surface on the metallic side of a Mott insulating transition by high pressure quantum oscillatory measurements in NiS2. Our results point at a large Fermi surface consistent with Luttinger’s theorem and a strongly enhanced quasiparticle effective mass. These two findings are in line with central tenets of the Brinkman-Rice picture of the correlated metal near the Mott insulating state and rule out alternative scenarios in which the carrier concentration vanishes continuously at the metal-insulator transition. PMID:27174799

One early triumph of quantum physics is the explanation why some materials are metallic whereas others are insulating. While a treatment based on single electron states is correct for most materials this approach can fail spectacularly, when the electrostatic repulsion between electrons causes strong correlations. Not only can these favor new and subtle forms of matter, such as magnetism or superconductivity, they can even cause the electrons in a half-filled energy band to lock into position, producing a correlated, or Mott insulator. The transition into the Mott insulating state raises important fundamental questions. Foremost among these is the fate of the electronic Fermi surface and the associated charge carrier mass, as the Mott transition is approached. We report the first direct observation of the Fermi surface on the metallic side of a Mott insulating transition by high pressure quantum oscillatory measurements in NiS2. Our results point at a large Fermi surface consistent with Luttinger's theorem and a strongly enhanced quasiparticle effective mass. These two findings are in line with central tenets of the Brinkman-Rice picture of the correlated metal near the Mott insulating state and rule out alternative scenarios in which the carrier concentration vanishes continuously at the metal-insulator transition.

Experimental studies and LDA+U calculations for the Sn/Si(111)({radical}(3) x {radical}(3))R30 surface suggest a Mott-insulating surfacestate originating dominantly from strongly correlated Sn (5p) orbitals below about 70K. Interestingly, the Sn atoms form a 1/3 monolayer on an effective triangular lattice. Hence the issue of spin liquid physics may arise due to possible frustration effects. In the scope of this work, we have first obtained an effective Hamiltonian for the surfacestates of this system in terms of maximally localized Wannier functions from LDA calculations. From there, we performed DMFT calculations for both a 1-band and a 3-band effective Hamiltonian to map out the temperature-dependent behavior of the spectral function close to the suggested metal-insulator transition and to investigate the importance of the different surface bands. In the case of the 3-band Hamiltonian, the full U matrix was used for the calculations. Finally, we compared the results of our dynamical approach to those obtained within the static LDA+U formalism.

Surface rupturing during the 28 June 1992, Landers, California earthquake, east of Los Angeles, accommodated right-lateral offsets up to about 6 m along segments of distinct, en echelon fault zones with a total length of about 80 km. The offsets were accommodated generally not by faults -- distinct slip surfaces -- but rather by shear zones, tabular bands of localized shearing. In long, straight stretches of fault zones at Landers the rupture is characterized by telescoping of shear zones and intensification of shearing: broad shear zones of mild shearing, containing narrow shear zones of more intense shearing, containing even-narrower shear zones of very intense shearing, which may contain a fault. Thus the ground ruptured across broad belts of shearing with subparallel walls, oriented NW. Each broad belt consists of a broad zone of mild shearing, extending across its entire width (50 to 200 m), and much narrower (a few m wide) shear zones that accommodate most of the offset of the belt and are portrayed by en echelon tension cracks. In response to right-lateral shearing, the slices of ground bounded by the tension cracks rotated in a clockwise sense, producing left lateral shearing, and the slices were forced against the walls of the shear zone, producing thrusting. Even narrower shear zones formed within the narrow shear zones, and some of these were faults. Although the narrower shear zones probably are indicators to right-lateral fault segments at depth, the surface rupturing during the earthquake is characterized not by faulting, but by zones of shearing at various scales. Furthermore, understanding of the formation of the shear zones may be critical to understanding of earthquake faulting because, where faulting is associated with the formation of a shear zone, the faulting occurs late in the development of the shear zone. The faulting occurs after a shear zone or a belt of shear zones forms.

Selected portions of the potential surfaces for six low lying states of Ni3 are the subject of the present SCF/CCI calculations using the effective core potentials developed by Hay and Wadt (1985); the four states are studied for near-equilateral triangle geometries are within 0.04 eV of each other. Two states are studied for linear geometries, of which the first is 0.16 eV higher than the corresponding near-equilateral triangle state and the second is estimated to be nearly degenerate with the near-equilateral triangle structures.

The results of electro-diamond grinding of coatings based on the WC25 powder material are presented in the paper. It is shown that after electro-diamond grinding of the WC25 coating, an obtained magnitude (Ra=2.02µm) of surface roughness doesn’t meet the qualifying standards to parts surface working in wear-out conditions. The forming of the obtained microrelief is probably connected to the features of electrochemical dissolution of the WC25 coating material in the electrolyte being used. Based on the polarization studies, it is revealed that the electrochemical dissolution character of the indicated coating in the water solution of 10%NaNO3 is determined by the dissolution character of cobalt (Co) component. The intensive cobalt (Co) dissolution during the electro-diamond grinding of the WC25 coating leads to the tungsten carbide chipping by the grinding disk particles that increases the roughness. One of the way to improve the surface quality of low-wear coatings after electro-diamond grinding is an introduction of an additional step in a technological process, carrying out with the switched off source of technological current. For realization of the process according to this scheme a technological dimension chain is made which takes into consideration the dissolution value of the most active coating composition element while the calculating of the operating dimensions of a detail.

Surface melt ponds now form frequently on ice shelves across the northern sector of the Antarctic Peninsula in response to regional warming and local föhn winds. A potentially important, but hitherto unknown, consequence of this surface melting and ponding is the formation of high-density near-surface ice from the refreezing of that water. We report the discovery and physical character of a massive subsurface ice layer located in an area of intense melting and intermittent ponding on Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica. We combine borehole optical televiewer logging and ground-based radar measurements with remote sensing and firn modelling to investigate the formation and spatial extent of this layer, found to be tens of kilometres across and tens of metres deep. The presence of this ice layer has the effect of raising local ice shelf density by ~190 kg m^-3 and temperature by 5 - 10 degrees C above values found in areas unaffected by ponding and hitherto used in models of ice-shelf fracture and flow.

The methodology of 5-axis cutter selection to avert collision for free-formsurface machining by flat-end cutters is presented.The combination of different cutters is adopt aiming at short machining time and high precision.The optimal small cutter is determined based on the geometric information of the points where a cutter most probably collide with the machined surface.Several larger cutters are slected to machine the surface in order to find the interference-free area.The difference of machining time for this area between the optimal small cutter and the large cutters is calculated.The functional relationship between the machining time and the radius of a cutter is established,by which the optimal number of cutters is obtained.The combination of cutters,which possesses the minimum overall machining time,is selected as the optimal cutter sizes.A case study has demonstrated the validity of the proposed methodology and algorithms.

An epitaxial silicon-oxide monolayer of chemical composition of Si2O3 (the Si2O3 layer) formed on hexagonal SiC(0001¯) surfaces has been observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Filled- and empty-state STM images with atomic resolution support the previously reported model. Typical structural defects in the Si2O3 layer are found to be missing SiOn (n = 1, 2, 3) molecules. The band gap of the Si2O3 layer obtained by point tunneling spectroscopy is 5.5±0.5 eV, exhibiting considerable narrowing from that of bulk SiO2, 8.9 eV. It is proposed that the Si2O3 layer is suitable as a relevant interface material for formation of SiC-based metal-oxide-semiconductor devices.

In order to study the structure of neutralino star and dark galaxy, we consider dynamical interactions due to boson-exchange in the neutralino matter. Taking into account interactions of neutralinos with bosons, we derive the equation of state (EOS) of neutralino stars in terms of the relativistic mean-field approach. Then we apply the resulting EOS to investigate properties of the neutralino star such as its density profile and mass limit. For example, if the neutralino mass is around 1 TeV, the Oppenheimer mass limit of the neutralino star is obtained as 6.06×10-7.Mo, and the corresponding radius is about 7.8 ram. Actually, due to an increasing annihilation rate as indicated by our calculation, this dense state can never be realized in practice. Our results also show that the low-density neutralino star may be a possible aggregation of the cold dark matter.

We study the strong energy dependence of the proton electromagnetic form factors in the time-like region, taking into account the one-pion-exchange final-state interaction in a covariant way. This effect is quantified in terms of the corrected Dirac F{sub 1} and Pauli F{sub 2} form factors and in the commonly used electric G{sub E} and magnetic G{sub M} ones. Our results on the ratio G{sub E} /G{sub M} depend only on the values of two free parameters and allow significant comparisons with the BaBar data. (orig.)

The present study deals with the stress degradation studies on amorphous and polymorphic forms of clopidogrel bisulphate. The objective was to characterize the degradation products and postulate mechanism of decomposition of the drug under solid state stress conditions. For that, amorphous form...... degradation products were observed under various stress conditions. The structures of all of them were elucidated using LC-MS/TOF and LC-MS(n) studies. While one matched the known hydrolytic decomposition product of the drug in solution, seven others were new. The postulated degradation pathway and mechanism...

The synthetic chemistry and spectroscopy of sulfur-protected gold surfaces and nanoparticles is analyzed, indicating that the electronic structure of the interface is Au(0)-thiyl, with Au(I)-thiolates identified as high-energy excited surfacestates. Density-functional theory indicates that it is the noble character of gold and nanoparticle surfaces that destabilizes Au(I)-thiolates. Bonding results from large van der Waals forces, influenced by covalent bonding induced through s-d hybridization and charge polarization effects that perturbatively mix in some Au(I)-thiolate character. A simple method for quantifying these contributions is presented, revealing that a driving force for nanoparticle growth is nobleization, minimizing Au(I)-thiolate involvement. Predictions that Brust-Schiffrin reactions involve thiolate anion intermediates are verified spectroscopically, establishing a key feature needed to understand nanoparticle growth. Mixing of preprepared Au(I) and thiolate reactants always produces Au(I)-thiolate thin films or compounds rather than monolayers. Smooth links to O, Se, Te, C, and N linker chemistry are established.

The potential energy surfaces corresponding to the long-lived fixed-nuclei electron scattering resonances of H{sub 2}O relevant to the dissociative electron attachment process are examined using a combination of ab initio scattering and bound-state calculations. These surfaces have a rich topology, characterized by three main features: a conical intersection between the {sup 2}A{sub 1} and {sup 2}B{sub 2} Feshbach resonance states; charge-transfer behavior in the OH ({sup 2}{Pi}) + H{sup -} asymptote of the {sup 2}B{sub 1} and {sup 2}A{sub 1} resonances; and an inherent double-valuedness of the surface for the {sup 2}B{sub 2} state the C{sub 2v} geometry, arising from a branch-point degeneracy with a {sup 2}B{sub 2} shape resonance. In total, eight individual seams of degeneracy among these resonances are located.

Topological insulators as a new type of quantum matter materials are characterized by a full insulating gap in the bulk and gapless edge/surfacestates protected by the time-reversal symmetry.We propose that the interference patterns caused by the elastic scattering of defects or impurities are dominated by the surfacestates at the extremal points on the constant energy contour.Within such a formalism,we summarize our recent theoretical investigations on the elastic scattering of topological surfacestates by various imperfections,including non-magnetic impurities,magnetic impurities,step edges,and various other defects,in comparison with the recent related experiments in typical topological materials such as BiSb alloys,Bi2Te3,and Bi2Se3 crystals.

We show that a series of transition metals with strained body-centered cubic lattice—W, Ta, Nb, and Mo—hosts surfacestates that are topologically protected by mirror symmetry and, thus, exhibits nonzero topological invariants. These findings extend the class of topologically nontrivial systems by topological crystalline transition metals. The investigation is based on calculations of the electronic structures and of topological invariants. The signatures of a Dirac-type surfacestate in W(110), e.g., the linear dispersion and the spin texture, are verified. To further support our prediction, we investigate Ta(110) both theoretically and experimentally by spin-resolved inverse photoemission: unoccupied topologically nontrivial surfacestates are observed.

We discover a pair of spin-polarized surface bands on the (111) face of grey arsenic by using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). In the occupied side, the pair resembles typical nearly-free-electron Shockley states observed on noble-metal surfaces. However, pump-probe ARPES reveals that the spin-polarized pair traverses the bulk band gap and that the crossing of the pair at Γ ¯ is topologically unavoidable. First-principles calculations well reproduce the bands and their nontrivial topology; the calculations also support that the surfacestates are of Shockley type because they arise from a band inversion caused by crystal field. The results provide compelling evidence that topological Shockley states are realized on As(111).

We present a study of the low-energy quasiparticle lifetimes of the Shockley surfacestate on the Ni(111) surface with scanning tunnelling spectroscopy. By measuring the coherence length of the decaying standing wave pattern at straight step edges electron and hole lifetimes have been determined. The values of the lifetime measured on this ferromagnetic surface show to be considerable smaller than the values obtained from noble metal surfaces. This is explained by differences in the electron density of states at the Fermi energy but has to include substantial spin-flip scattering. Furthermore hole lifetimes appear to be larger than electron lifetimes with the same excitation energy. Although only results for the majority spin component are presented, a spin-dependent selfenergy is expected. (orig.)

Full Text Available The authors analyse different forms of environmental education projects and programmes implemented in the Baltic Sea region. The first one is “The Baltic University” programme taught in English. The “Baltic University” is a network of more than 200 universities from 14 counties of the Baltic Sea region. This education programme offers an opportunity for students to enroll on bachelor and master degree programmes related to environmental and social problems of the Baltic Sea region. The Polar and Marine Sciences, POMOR master programme, represents the second form of international environmental education. Russian and German researchers from six universities and four research centres have developed the programme. The target group of the programme are Russian and international students, studying together during the whole duration of the programme. It is the first internationally accredited MA programme taught in English. International accreditation proves the compliance of the programme with international education standards. The same cooperation model is used in a new international master programme — Cold Regions Environmental Landscapes Integrated Science (CORELIS. The programme started in 2016. It is implemented jointly by Hamburg university (the lead partner of the project, and university professors from Helsinki (Finland and Lisbon (Portugal. Researchers from the Austrian National Institute of Polar Research (Austria, and Lund University (Sweden will join the programme at a later stage. Such an approach will help achieve the synergy of the European and Russian approaches to environmental education. The Russian-Norwegian master programme “Geoecological monitoring and rational use of natural resources in the Northern oil and gas production regions” is a good example of the third form of international environmental education. The programme similar to POMOR and CORELIS. However, it has one distinctive feature — Russian and foreign

Mutations in the extracellular M2-M3 loop of the glycine receptor (GlyR) alpha1 subunit have been shown previously to affect channel gating. In this study, the substituted cysteine accessibility method was used to investigate whether a structural rearrangement of the M2-M3 loop accompanies GlyR activation. All residues from R271C to V277C were covalently modified by both positively charged methanethiosulfonate ethyltrimethylammonium (MTSET) and negatively charged methanethiosulfonate ethylsulfonate (MTSES), implying that these residues form an irregular surface loop. The MTSET modification rate of all residues from R271C to K276C was faster in the glycine-bound state than in the unliganded state. MTSES modification of A272C, L274C, and V277C was also faster in the glycine-bound state. These results demonstrate that the surface accessibility of the M2-M3 loop is increased as the channel transitions from the closed to the open state, implying that either the loop itself or an overlying domain moves during channel activation.

Full Text Available Continuous fibre reinforced composites are now firmly established engineering materials for the manufacture of components in the automotive and aerospace industries. In this respect, composite fabrics provide flexibility in the design manufacture. The ability to define the ply shapes and material orientation has allowed engineers to optimize the composite properties of the parts. The formulation of new numerical models for the simulation of the composite forming processes must allow for reduction in the delay in manufacturing and an optimization of costs in an integrated design approach. We propose two approaches to simulate the deformation of woven fabrics: geometrical and mechanical approaches.

The year 1968 seems to be the climax of the counterculture, as manifold forms of resistance emerged and multiple claims were asserted by various social groups. Such a polyphony may appear as a hodgepodge of uncoordinated elements, all the more so as 1968 seems to be the year of rifts and dissensions between “movement cultures,” radical politicized groups, and the more hedonistic and apolitical hippies. In order to show that 1968 is both a puzzle and a puzzling year which prepared the ground f...